Complex
by negautrunks
Summary: Sasuke finally got out of prison. He is ready to kill Itachi and revive his clan, but when he discovers that the complex is haunted, will that put a damper on his plans? Slight Sasu/Karin Definite Sasu/Saku AND Ita/Saku COMPLETE CHAR DEATHS
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This will be the only A/N for the fic. I hate them. I don't own Naruto. Please review that way I will know if people like this or not, it will be greatly appreciated. There will be SasuSaku soon, but I write for the story as fans of mine may know so don't expect instant lemons, ok? This fic, however, is rated M for a reason.

Enjoy!

P.S. (9/13/2011) I read back over the chapters and re-edited them after noticing a plethora of errors, both grammatical and otherwise. I had the timeline completely mixed up, randomly manipulating the seasons and months at my will (-_-'). This has been rectified in the following revised version of _Complex_. Please review or PM if you find anything out of the ordinary. Thanks :D

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 1 : Catch and Release_

Uchiha Sasuke lay, stretched out on the lumpy cot that had been his bed for the last two and a half years. His lithe body spanned the length of the furniture; hell, he could probably stick his feet out through the bars at the bottom if he so desired to. Instead they were propped up on the railing that looped over the vertical rods, his weight causing the flimsy wire framework to bow in the middle of the bed as his back slouched in an unhealthy-looking curve up to his shoulders. Fingers intertwined in his thick raven locks, his head rested in the cradle his hands formed, visage tilted slightly to his left, charcoal eyes fixed unwaveringly on the steel mirror on the opposite side of the cell. From exactly this angle, he could see the clock at the end of the hall, barely. If it wasn't for his bloodline limit, he probably wouldn't be able to make out the time with any sort of accuracy. But this was Uchiha Sasuke.

_"Ten minutes."_

"_Or so_," he thought. Paperwork could get troublesome, or so he'd heard from the chuunin that paced the halls intermittently.

Unmoving, the Uchiha pondered his condition briefly. Toilet, sink, bed. Pillow, blanket, change of clothes. The bare minimum. He had been waiting for this day since he came strutting back into Konoha that morning; Karin at his side, katana at his waist, bag on his shoulder. ANBU had been watching him since they crossed the border, but he walked along the main road straight to the village gates with his subordinate in tow and they did not disturb his travel. He had sent a courier hawk from Iwa notifying the current Hokage of his intent to return, and knowing there would be hell to pay as soon as he set foot in the village, he continued on his course, one foot in front of the other all the way to the huge wooden doors.

He had stopped just inside the gates, dropped his pack from his shoulder and turned his head to look straight at Izumo and Kotetsu.

He said nothing, only gazed at them momentarily before six ANBU fell from the sky and Karin shrieked.

Sasuke smirked oh-so-slightly at the mirror.

_Karin._

He'd held his hands behind his back then, back to back as is customary for shinobi captives, straightening his neck to look ahead. And so the ANBU bound him and walked him straight to the Hokage without a word, without a fight.

_Tsunade._

Sasuke wiped the smirk from his face. He owed that woman his life. However much he hated the fact, she and Naruto and Kakashi had fought brains, pen and scroll against the elders for his life.

And so here he lay, waiting to begin anew after two and a half years of pacing, eating and sleeping.

Finally he heard them, _tip-tapping_ down the hall, and he felt a flare of chakra as the door at the end of the hall was unsealed. He didn't bother to move from his silent post, just in case. But there weren't too many others in the maximum security wing of the prison under the intelligence center. Certainly none getting out today besides himself. Two jounin whom he didn't recognize entered his peripheral vision and stopped at the door. The taller blonde ninja took the disk-shaped key from his pouch and set it into the wall beside the door, which promptly slid open.

"Uchiha." The brown-haired nin spat at him.

Sasuke broke his silent rest and swung off of the bed, striding toward the opening without looking back. There was nothing here for him, nothing he wanted anyway. He looked the young jounin straight in the eye, pausing at the exit to his cell before continuing down the hall.

"Hn."

xXXXxxxxxXxxXXX

A short while later, after the prison's medic nin had unsealed his chakra and he had been given back his sword and clothes he stepped into the atrium of the prison. Not a soul stood to greet him. He adjusted his shoulder pack uncertainly. The jounin at the reception desk sniffed and glanced furtively, hatefully at the Uchiha's offending presence.

His clothes were in a more traditional style than those he had arrived in, he had the Cat Grandmother tailor these especially for his new start in Konoha. A black tunic, similar in style to his father's, with grey trim at the neck wrapped around his thin torso. His belt was also grey to match. His light pants came down to his lower calves and were wrapped with pristine bandages to his three-years-ago issue shinobi sandals.

He stood stoically for a few more moments in the hall, waiting for something to happen or to gather the courage to step from the building that had been his home for the last few years and face the village, only he knew. Finally he took a shuffling step forward, then picked up the pace and stepped bravely to the door, eyes flashing.

Uchiha Sasuke was suddenly nervous.

The unforgiving sun shone on him in all its beauty and might, momentarily blinding him. He squinted. Gravel and dirt crunched lightly under his sandals as he moved slightly to let the door close. He breathed a deep sigh. Clean, new fresh air filled his lungs. Vision clearing, although still blurry, he could make out the trees and birds and bugs and...

"Oof!"

His pack hit the floor and he was almost shoved into the door as he was tackled around the middle by something... red and purple.

"Sasuke-kun! Oh Sasuke!"

He looked down with distaste at the mass that was now slavering on his clean shirt, glasses prodding annoyingly into his pectorals.

_Karin._

He frowned.

She continued to nuzzle him and press her face into his chest, running her hands feverishly over his back, pressing her hips into his-

"Karin." He grasped her shoulders gently and pushed her back. He lowered his right hand but his left remained holding her at a distance. There she stood at arm's length, wiping her face pathetically with her own hands, crying miserably. Looking past her he could see another, a young man, dressed in black and orange the blonde leaned quietly on the fence across the street. Finally having been noticed, he stood and walked over to the couple, a small smile on his face.

"Welcome home, Sasuke."

Naruto clapped the unsmiling Uchiha on the shoulder.

XXXXXxxxXXXXXXX

"Naruto-kun, we appreciate your business, we really do. You're welcome here anytime, but _he _cannot be seen in our restaurant. I'm sorry, but you three will have to eat elsewhere."

Naruto stamped his foot and pointed rudely in the woman's face.

"I come here all the time! There's no reason for Teme not to be able to eat here, you're just prejudiced! He served his time and paid for his crimes, its not like fucking Orochimaru himself is here with us, let us eat here in peace! Do you realize this is the fourth place that's turned us down? He has to shop and eat somewhere you stupid-"

"Dobe."

Sasuke hung his head slightly, body turned toward the door. A pained look spread across his face and he sighed.

"_Ramen it is..._"

Naruto turned away from the shocked woman, angrily shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He stormed out between a somber Sasuke and a bewildered-looking Karin.

Karin and Sasuke followed Naruto to the one place that would never turn Naruto nor his friend away, criminal or not. All around him, Sasuke could hear the whispers of the villagers and shinobi as he passed, head down slightly. They wouldn't dare confront him with Naruto there, they might not even directly confront him alone now that his chakra had been released. Naruto stomped on ahead, muttering.

"Fucking villagers, I save them all from death's doorstep and this is how they repay me, Oh yes, I've been here before I almost forgot – NOT – snubbed and hated by all you bastards..."

"Naruto..."

Sasuke sped up a little and caught up to him, lightly and awkwardly patting his friend's shoulder blade.

"Cool it, please."

Naruto stood stock-still and stared at his friend. His face finally softened into something like sadness or pity.

"Ok."

They trudged along the village streets together and finally the trio ducked into the empty ramen stand, each claiming a stool, Sasuke in between his companions. Naruto spoke for the three.

"Boss! Three Tonkatsu specials, with egg, and a couple bottles of warm sake!"

"Hai! Naruto!" The old man responded with the same smile that seemed to withstand all tribulations and situations.

Sasuke set his elbows on the counter and rested his face in his hand, picking some chopsticks out of the jar with the other.

"Ma, Sasuke," Naruto turned fully to face his friend, hands pressing the cushion of the seat under him. "What now? The chuunin exams are in eight months, you just missed them. Are you going to go ahead and try to get some missions or something?"

Sasuke stared at him for a few moments and the only sounds were of the old stall owner's feet shuffling in the background and the faint rumble of boiling water.

"No. I still have much of the fortune that was left to me after..." He trailed off, expressionless. "I'll take the chuunin exams and we will see if I can get Kakashi to sponsor me for a promotion to jounin. Eventually I think I'll try for ANBU..." He sighed slightly. He took no joy in the mundane plan he had outlined for Naruto, but it was his best chance at starting over and eventually hunting down Itachi and killing the man. Not that Sasuke had known the feeling of true joy since his childhood. It would be fitting for Sasuke as a Konoha ANBU to take down his family's betrayer.

"That's a good plan."

Karin stared sadly at Sasuke, silent.

"Jyaa!" Ayame's father set down two bowls in front of the boys, and turned, getting Karin hers.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto half-cried, and Karin and Sasuke intoned their own muted thanks to the chef.

In between bites Sasuke looked at Naruto, half-wondering if his friend would hear him if he talked over the slurping of noodles. Sasuke nibbled on the edge of a slice of pork as Naruto continued to stuff his face, finally tipping the bowl up and leaning back, sucking the last remnants of broth from the bowl.

"Yosh!" Naruto slammed the bowl down on the counter, smacking his lips and wiping his face with his hands when there were perfectly good paper napkins sitting not two feet away from him on the counter. Sasuke watched with a raised eyebrow as he continued on to wipe his salty hands on his black pants and orange and black jacket. He had forgotten what a pig his best friend was.

"Pig."

Naruto laughed. Sasuke smirked slightly. The small action brought an abrupt twisting sensation to his chest and he wiped the look off of his face, replacing it with trained emotionlessness. Karin continued to eat slowly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye with concern. He looked back at her briefly.

"_Don't worry about me..."_

"Naruto." The young man turned his head to look at Sasuke. "I'm still going to kill him. The next time I see him, the next time I get the chance, I'll be ready, and he'll be sorry..." Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, clenching his fists in his lap and staring at them, seething.

Naruto looked at him with his mouth open idiotically. He closed his mouth abruptly with a _pop_, then sighed turning back to his empty bowl.

"We all knew you would. It doesn't matter. You're back in the village now, where you are surrounded by people who care, your friends and teammates, and your girlfriend." He smiled momentarily at Karin. "We all want to help you in any way we can. That's why we've stuck by you, and if that's your ultimate goal you know we will lift you up so that you can reach it." Naruto sighed and cracked his back bones loudly, flipping his head from one shoulder to the other. "But promise me, as you promised the old Grandma, that you'll protect the people of the village with your life. While you were gone, you know I killed Pein and saved the whole village." Naruto looked Sasuke in the eyes. "We'd expect you to do the same, if for no one else, for Kakashi and myself. We went through hell to save you. Help us protect our important people."

Sasuke sat quietly for a moment, meeting Naruto's gaze so that the other man would see his sincerity. Finally he half-whispered, "You know I will. No matter how much everyone here seems to hate me, in the end you were right." He lowered his head remorsefully. "This is my home... and when I became a genin, I took a vow to protect it with my life and that still stands..." He unclenched his fists and looked Naruto in the face again, speaking a little louder. "I've tried hard never to kill anyone from Leaf, and I've paid for the crimes I committed across the five nations. I'll prove my loyalty to you all again and bring honor and pride back to my clan's name."

Naruto slowly nodded in acceptance of his friend's pledge.

Karin whimpered petulantly at Sasuke, who turned to her promptly.

"I waited... so long for you..."

"Not here, Karin." He frowned. He hated to snub her after all this time, but this was not the right moment for _this_ conversation.

Karin's gaze dropped to her hands and she stifled her tears.

"Sorry."

She whipped her head back up to look at him, shocked.

"Hmph."

He turned to the cold, filmy ramen in the bowl and sucked it down.

XXXXXXXxxxxxXXX

The three ninja stood uncomfortably outside the stand, it was late afternoon and the sun was just starting to near the horizon. Karin stood a little closer to Sasuke than to Naruto, picking at a hangnail while the boys tried to think of something to say.

Finally Sasuke broke the silence.

"Where is Sakura?"

Naruto released a laugh with no mirth.

"Be glad she's not here. She's just as pissed at you as the rest of the village, if not more so..."

It was Sasuke's turn to look surprised.

"Why?"

"You broke her heart, stupid! She waited for you for years, almost four years, and the last time you saw her you told her she was weak!" Naruto exhaled vehemently. "That was _after_ she smashed a gigantic hole in Orochimaru's lair! She trained so hard and long to get to that point and you smashed every bit of hard work and sweat she poured into getting better _for you_ with those words. Then when you came back to the village you _wouldn't even talk to her_. You didn't even acknowledge her existence, you just walked on by her without so much as a glance. Of course she freaking hates you."

"Oh." Sasuke muttered stupidly. He'd assumed that she'd always be there... he supposed even the deep love she supposedly felt for him had some sort of boundary, one he'd apparently violated in his youthful stupidity and callousness. He brought his hand to his eyes and wiped it down over his face. That last year with Orochimaru had been the worst, and he remembered the distrust he had felt for everyone, and the malice with which he attacked everyone around him. Not that it mattered much in Orochimaru's lair...

"That bitch. She should be more forgiving! Sasuke had it rough there with Orochimaru! Of course he treated her like shit, she only came to stand in his way and drag him from his goal-" Karin spat.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto yelled, "Then why are you two losers here in Konoha? Why did Sasuke drag ass back here after his plans fell apart because training with Orochimaru actually _didn't _make him strong enough to kill Itachi, huh? You two came back here, practically crawling on hands and knees begging for mercy, begging for another chance..." He frowned and crossed his arms. "He's getting closer to his _goal_ here in Konoha every day that he trains and studies here. Why don't you focus on being a friend to him instead of picking fights with the few people that actually care about him?"

Karin backed up a step, gasping as he stepped forward.

"If you're not here to help then maybe you should leave."

Sasuke exhaled quietly.

"Please you guys..."

They both stopped and looked at Sasuke. A thought flashed briefly through Naruto's mind.

"_Usually Sakura keeps us together, keeps us from fighting like this..."_ and pain gripped his heart at the thought of his other teammate.

Really, Naruto barely knew Karin at all.

The blonde shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets as Karin stepped a little closer to Sasuke.

"Naruto, I just want to go home right now. It's kind of a lot for me..." Sasuke looked up at the sky as a flock of pigeons flew overhead. The sky was a deep pink now, The sun peeking up halfway over the wall around the village.

Naruto's signature grin spread across his face.

"Yeah! You should go home and rest. You're going to have a whole lot of work to do if you're going to catch up to me and Sakura!"

Sasuke allowed a small smile to form on his lips.

"See you tomorrow, Dobe."

"Os!"

Karin waved shyly. "'Bye, Naruto."

"Cool. I'll see you too, Karin." He smiled at her too. No hard feelings.

Karin smiled back a little, the man's happiness was infectious at times...

Naruto turned and walked away, still waving, one hand in his pocket.

Sasuke turned to Karin.

"Let's go home."

She nodded. "I got an apartment in the meantime, we can go there and then maybe once you start taking missions we can... decide what to do next..."

The two started walking as Karin led the way to their apartment. They hadn't gone five steps before Sasuke spoke.

"I want to stay at my house."

Karin looked at him incredulously. "Why?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's where I've lived all my life. My clan has lived there for generations. I have no business in your apartment."

"It's no big deal, really!" Karin insisted. "That old place is probably filthy and rotten after all these years of neglect and disuse. At least spend the night?" Karin begged hopefully.

Sasuke sighed, turning down a side-street and Karin trotted to catch up to him, no longer on the path to her apartment. At the end of the road, in the fading light, a wall could be seen with wooden doors in it. The paint was falling in large chips off of it, and graffiti was evident on a large part of it, defacing the Uchiha symbols that appeared periodically along the span of the parapet. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders a bit, walking slowly down the same road he'd walked all those years coming home from missions and school.

"Sa-Sasuke!" She clutched his sleeve in one hand.

He merely glanced at her manicured fingers, clenched around the fabric of his tunic, never pausing in his stride. They reached the end of the street and he frowned at Karin as she stood still in front of the gates, glaring at them apprehensively, still grabbing his shirt. He removed his hands from his pockets.

"Let me go."

She obliged, albeit slowly, and then she gasped, a faraway look in her eyes.

Sasuke had taken a step forward since he let her go, but he knew this reaction from her and so he turned and gauged the look on her face, tensing.

"What is it?"

Her mouth flopped open and closed like a fish's.

"There are... about a hundred people living here."

Sasuke's eyebrow arched in surprise.

"What?"

"You heard me!" She whispered fiercely. "People already live here! We can't stay here."

"Bullshit."

Sasuke sauntered up to the gates and looked through the slats. The streets and alleys of the complex were as dark as he ever saw them at dusk, a broken and deteriorating lantern lay in the street, half-covered with sand and not a soul was in sight. He motioned for her to come close to him, which she did, treading carefully.

"Look." He murmured.

And look, she did. Her breaths quickened and Sasuke slid his hand up onto her shoulder.

"There's... no one there..." She gasped.

The pale man squeezed her joint ever so slightly.

"See-"

"No." She said, pushing his hand off of her and stepping back from the gates.

"No!" She stomped her foot and clenched her fists by her side. "I'm not wrong! Sasuke, I've never been wrong! If I say there is something- there are people _in that neighborhood_ then there _are!_"

Sasuke turned to her and stared.

She was trembling.

"I don't know what kind of game this is... I don't know what's going on. But I'm not staying there!"

Sasuke's expression blanked. "This is my home. Look, it's as desolate and empty as it was when I left it!" Sasuke raised his voice slightly.

Karin began to shake.

"That- that can only m-mean one thing then." Her breaths were coming in short pants now.

"Karin, stop the act. You look and sound ridiculous." He scoffed, turning away from her. "You're going to hyperventilate if you keep this up, then what good will you be to me?"

He smirked and turned to her.

"Actually, keep doing that. I'll just drag you inside once you pass out."

She abruptly stopped breathing.

"No... No way." She started to walk backwards slowly. Karin looked at Sasuke with pleading eyes. "Please, lets just go back to my place. We can talk this over and figure it out in the morning."

"I'm going in." Sasuke told her as a streetlight cut on. It was getting darker by the second, and he was tired after an emotionally taxing day.

"Don't!" Karin screamed. Sasuke started at her sudden outburst.

"What the hell, people are probably sleep-"

"Shut up, Sasuke! That place-" She pointed to the gate "is full of people, empty-looking or not. And whether or not you want to believe me, I'm convinced." Sasuke narrowed his gaze. Karin took a deep breath and whispered, "That place, is _haunted_."

Sasuke's expression hardened.

"I've lived here for years, before and after the massacre. I never saw anything out of the ordinary. You're full of shit, but if you don't want to stay here, don't think for a second that I'm going to force you."

Karin's eyes widened and she readjusted her glasses, opening her mouth to speak. Sasuke held up his palm to silence her.

"I'm going to walk through these gates, down the street to my house, walk in the front door and down to my room and _sleep_." He imparted, "And if you don't want to be a part of this then you can take a hike. Because _this_ is where I live and you're _not _going to change that."

He put his hand down.

Karin huffed, hurt but trying to hide it.

"Quite a speech _Uchiha_," he flinched at the unfamiliar form she was addressing him by "But I don't believe it for a second. By midnight, you'll be crawling to my front door begging to sleep on the floor!" She shouted as he turned his back, pushing past the creaky gates.

Karin stood in the same place, a flustered pink creeping up her neck. Sasuke continued onwards.

"I waited _two and a half years _for you and _this_ is how you _repay me?_" She shrieked in the street. "You're a goddamned fool, Uchiha! I should have gone back to Ame without you! I fucking hate you!" And without further ado she turned on her heel and stomped back to her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 2 : Afraid of You_

Sasuke opened his eyes a tad and shifted under the bedclothes. It was already warm in his room, although the gray morning light was just beginning to filter in through the paper doors. Dust particles floated freely in the room and his footsteps were clearly outlined in the film on the floor. He hadn't given any heed to Karin's words as he trudged through the familiar passages of the Uchiha complex, focusing his own footsteps to drown out her shrieks of protest. Even so, he knew he'd have to face her today.

He tossed the dusty duvet off of him and still holding the corner, dragged it outside and hung it on the line, not bothering with shoes even in the courtyard. Turning back to the house, the sun peeked over the eastern wall, bathing his pale shoulders and neck with hot light. Unflinching, the Uchiha made his way back to his room and donned his shoes and top. Finally he walked briskly to the kitchen and glanced around briefly. Without stopping he strode to the front door and out of the house. No food here.

In the daylight, the place just looked downright dirty he noticed as he slouched down the street. _"I'll need to be cleaning this place up..." _It didn't look as dirty as it might have though... He looked carefully in the windows as he passed the houses of so many people he'd known, his aunt and uncle, cousins, grandparents. Nothing out of the ordinary, he noticed. Sasuke shook his head, pushing back thoughts of what Karin had talked about last night.

He was definitely not buying into her childish fears. Not that he'd ever admit to checking that all was in place around the complex. Besides, he didn't hear a board creak or a paper flutter in the breeze all night. The place was actually in pretty good shape considering he'd been gone for nigh on seven years.

He had reached the gate by now. Sasuke turned around for one last look and frowned.

"_No one here. And there may well never be..."_

He pushed through the doors into the town.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Karin shoved her delicates into the washer brutally.

"_How dare he! Raugh!"_ She thought incoherently while shaking her head and mashing fist-fulls of bras and footsie socks into the tub. _"Bastard!"_ She slammed the door shut and abusively pushed buttons on the front, forgetting the softener in her rage. _"Asshole!"_ she thought to herself, flinging the closet door shut.

Promptly, she heard a soft knock at the front door. She threw the hamper down where she stood and, already knowing who had come to disturb her day off, stomped over to the door. She swung it wide as she opened it.

"What the hell do you want?" She spat in his face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

"Drop what you're doing. Let's get food." He kept his response short.

"You- Insufferable- Selfish..." She seethed at him, lost for words.

Sasuke merely stared expectantly at her, hands at his sides.

"Nghh!" She pouted, bending slightly to scoop up her purse and keys she stormed out beside him and slammed her door, fiddling with the lock. Finally succeeding, she turned and passed by him leading the way to breakfast. Sasuke silently followed at a safe distance. Karin led him to a tiny Okonomiyaki stand near the edge of the village. She went up to the counter and ordered as Sasuke took his seat at a nearby outdoor picnic table. By the time Sasuke had cleared the leaves off of the tabletop she had made her way to him. They sat in silence for a time.

"So how did you fare in the haunted mansion, Mr. Immortal Untouchable Shinobi?" She spat snarkily at him, crossing her arms.

"Hn. I slept." He clipped back at her shortly, looking her expressionlessly in the face.

She looked away and adjusted her glasses. "B.S."

He sighed.

"Karin, there's nothing there. I didn't hear anything all night. I didn't _see_ anything all night. Your superstitions are unfounded. There isn't a footprint in that place that doesn't belong to me."

"Sasuke, I know, for a fact what I felt. You couldn't drag me in there in broad daylight. If it's as empty as you say it is... If it seems to be as empty as you say..." she stopped short.

"What?" Sasuke implored.

The red-head lowered her voice. "Then it's definitely spirits. You've got to believe me, you've never doubted me before, why would you start now?" she hissed.

He thought about that for a minute.

"Maybe if you're there, and they know you're there, and that you know they are there, then they'll leave us alone."

"Fat chance. How would you like to live in a place, feeling that there are people beside, behind and around you, not being able to see them and being shinobi, not being able to defend against them?" She asked.

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Paranoid?"

"Exactly!" She slammed her fist down on the tabletop. "I'd never sleep, eat, shower... I'll be a freaking wreck!" She threw her hands into her hair, gripping it. "The thought terrifies me!"

Sasuke blanked. "Really?"

She nodded.

"If anything they'll probably gravitate towards me..." She whispered. "That's what used to happen at Orochimaru's. That's why I was such a wreck until team Hebi left. The children, they would follow me, asking for help, for food, crying, screaming..." She covered her face, speaking into her palms now. "You can't possibly ask me to deal with that. I can't deal with your dead family, bloody and torn, begging for vengeance or whatever it is they want..." She sighed waveringly. "It's not going to happen." She whispered, sweat glistening on her temples. She pulled her hands from her face and Sasuke saw just how flustered she felt. Karin was quite pale and green.

The server chose that moment to bring out their Okonomiyaki. As soon as he set it down in front of them and turned Karin pushed hers away and stood.

"I don't want it."

She began to walk away but Sasuke caught her wrist as she passed. She looked down her nose angrily at him.

"Let me go."

He looked back up at her stoically. "Not until you've heard me out. If you can't take it then that's too bad. I'm still not going anywhere." She gasped and started to struggle, trying to pry his fingers from her wrist with her free hand. Sasuke sat there like a rock. "I'll let you go but you obviously aren't even going to try to spend the night. So I'm going to keep you from ruining my chances with the rest of the village anymore than I already have." Her eyes widened as he stood to his full height and she tried to pull away frantically, kicking at his shins with her feet and clawing at the back of his hand with her nails.

"Let me go you psycho bastard!" She shrieked at him.

"This will be fast. Shh!" He commanded quickly forming seals with his left hand and slamming it a short distance into her throat. She gagged briefly and Sasuke's chakra spread through her neck and into her brain, sharingan spinning and guiding the threads to the right memories. "You won't be telling anyone about this." he whispered. After a few more seconds he let her go and she crumpled to her knees, retching at Sasuke's feet and clasping her throat. He stared at the back of her head.

"You- you're still- _cough_ the same mer- huh- merciless bastard..." She gasped.

Sasuke crouched down and grabbed a fistful of her hair, slowly tilting her head up to look at him.

"What did you expect?" He asked blandly.

Tears stained her face and she blubbered. Karin grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her, reeling back. He let her.

"Nothing anymore. I'm leaving this fucked up village." She ground out, still hoarse. "You obviously belong here." She took one last look at the Uchiha, still crouched and balancing on the balls of his feet. Then she turned and walked away hastily, no doubt to pack and leave.

Sasuke stood and heaved a sigh, turning back to his pancake.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke made his way to the training grounds where he and Naruto had agreed to meet today, along with Kakashi. Apparently Sakura had more important things to do today. Sasuke wondered briefly for how long she'd be avoiding him. Naruto was already waiting for him on the other side of the red bridge, stretching his hamstrings. Sasuke lifted a hand slightly in greeting. Naruto yelled at him over the distance.

"Hey!"

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. He had missed this. He looked to Naruto like a true brother. Striding over the bridge, he closed the distance between the two and sat next to Naruto, crossing a leg over the other and twisting his body in the opposite direction.

"Kakashi?"

"Give him an hour, forty-five minutes. He's probably nursing a hangover. Or on Sakura's couch."

Sasuke changed positions, stretching the corresponding muscles on the opposite side of his back and looking questioningly at Naruto in the same movement. "Sakura?"

"Yeah, shes a medic now. The best really!" Naruto boasted proudly of his friend. "He always goes to her house after missions. Hates the hospital."

"Oh." Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek. _"He better keep his hands to himself-"_

"Yo." Kakashi stood on the column at the end of the bridge then jumped down, hands sliding into his pockets.

Naruto hopped up and yelled at him. "Where were you this time! And we want an honest answer!"

"Ha. Gomen, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi chuckled. "See, last night I ran into this sweet brunette at Yuuhi's and she looked so lonesome, I had to help her and walked her home. Then we-"

"OK! That's enough! You can shut up now, screw the honesty I was really expecting you to have been rescuing a cat or something."

Sasuke looked blankly between the two of them.

"You could say, in a matter of speaking, that I was helping a defenseless pu-"

"Shut up!" Naruto covered his ears and Sasuke looked darkly toward his Sensei.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun, ready for some training?" Kakashi shut his porno book and looked at the young man with a glint of challenge in his eye.

Sasuke smirked and stood, dusting off his pants.

"Bring it on, old man."

xXXXXXXxxxxxXXX

A couple of hours later the Kakashi and Sasuke sat side by side, Sasuke had removed his shirt in the process of fighting Kakashi and the older man had taken off his vest. Under the shade of a mulberry tree, Sasuke doused himself with a bottle of water while Kakashi chugged one. Both breathed heavily. Sweat shone on Sasuke's shoulders and chest and droplets of water trailed down his back, dripping from his hair. Naruto had taken off about ten minutes earlier, hungry, and so Sasuke found his opportunity to speak with the man whom he regarded more closely as his father than anyone else.

"Kakashi." Sasuke said in between pants.

"Hn?" Kakashi questioned, tugging his mask back up over his face at the usual insane speed. He rested his arms over his knees and looked at Sasuke.

"Sakura is avoiding me."

Kakashi turned away and looked ahead pensively. "Are you surprised?" the jounin asked.

"Not really I guess." Sasuke muttered. "I was hoping she wouldn't hate me though."

"You could have showed her a little more respect then, when she found you that year. Or even on the day you came back to the village. Girlfriend or not, you should have said _something_."

Sasuke sighed.

"What now?" He whispered, hanging his head.

Kakashi turned to look at him abruptly. "What happened?"

"Karin is leaving the village."

Kakashi's eye widened momentarily, but then he relaxed and leaned against the large tree.

"Yep, quite a way with women you have there. Keep it up, champ."

"Thanks." Sasuke scowled, relaxing against the tree himself and looking across the expanse of the training ground without really seeing anything in front of him. "I have to revive my clan somehow. Everyone in the village hates me. How am I supposed to find someone who'll stay with me and have my kids?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment.

"Is that all you want from a woman?" Kakashi inquired quietly.

Sasuke was silent.

"You know, eventually any woman will sense that you just want to use her." Kakashi imparted knowingly. "And if she doesn't figure it out her friends will."

"Sounds like you learned from experience." Sasuke mouthed off.

"Nope." Kakashi smiled throwing his book at the young man. Sasuke caught it one-handed.

"Fan_tas_tic..." He muttered, flipping through the pages. He caught a glimpse of a rather provocative illustration and slammed the paperback shut with a _clap_. Sasuke could feel the heat pooling behind his ears and up his face.

Kakashi chuckled. "But Karin seemed pretty... _desperate_ if you ask me. You must've really screwed up for her to drop you like a hot rock after waiting for two years for you."

"Two and a half..." Sasuke muttered.

"Uh-huh." Kakashi waved his hand around slightly at seemingly nothing.

The pair sat silently for a bit. A locust chirped in the tree above them.

"She didn't want to sleep at my house."

"I'm not surprised." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Kakashi continued. "That's pretty forward of you to outright ask her for sex the first time you see her in two years. Tch. Tactless, Sasuke, tactless."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, she wanted to sleep with me alright." He remembered her grinding against him outside the intelligence division. "But she wanted to go to her place. I refused and she followed me to mine." Sasuke sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment. He let it out along with a small laugh. "She swore up and down the place was _haunted_." he stated with obvious disbelief. He shook his head. "I insisted that she give it a try and she bitched until I got tired of her and left her in the street."

Kakashi's eye widened again. "Haunted?" He murmured. "How could she know?"

"She's a sensory type and I guess she thought she felt something in the complex but-"

"She's a sensory type? Are you sure Sasuke?" Kakashi pushed himself upright, turning to look straight at the reclining man.

Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi. The older ninja looked edgy.

"What's the big deal? Sure its rare but yeah, she is a sensory type. That's mostly why I kept her around."

"I don't blame her. Sorry, Sasuke, but I won't be going near that area of town ever again. Not that I go there often anyway." Kakashi stood to leave.

Sasuke stood after him. "What do you mean? Why are you so freaked out? Come on, that's baby stuff, children are afraid of ghosts. They don't even exist!" He exclaimed.

Kakashi picked up his vest and took his book from Sasuke. "You have no idea." He shook his head, turning away.

"Kakashi." Sasuke grabbed Kakashi's shoulder. "You can't tell anyone about this. True or not, if anyone finds out about this I'll never have a chance at reviving my clan." Sasuke's voice heightened a little in his panic.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder at his former student. He snapped his book shut and stuffed it in his shuriken pouch. He turned to Sasuke, who dropped his hand from Kakashi's shoulder.

"I won't tell anyone. Man to man, I promise I'll keep your secret. But don't think of dragging me into this if it causes you _any_ kind of problem_ whatsoever_, got it? I'm not part of this."

Sasuke smirked, grasping Kakashi's hand. "Fine by me."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sasuke trudged through the village down the main road, glancing at the shops around him, looking for cleaning supplies. The stuff back at his house proved to be too far deteriorated to use. The leftover half-empty bottles of floor cleaner and bleach were probably ok, but he would be needing a mop and bucket, a broom and some rags if he could get a hold of them. It didn't feel right to use his family members' old clothes- not even Itachi's. He'd also need some food... He looked up at the sky briefly. He really did have to start from scratch. As he brought his face back down to look at the shops again, a flash of bubblegum pink caught his attention. He stopped and peered at the upper-floor window where he had seen it. Without a doubt, that was the right house.

Sasuke shook his head. He wouldn't bother her right now. If she didn't want to see him-

"Chyaa!"

Sasuke whipped his head around just in time to see his attacker's angry face, mouth turned down in a firm line, turquoise eyes narrowed, flashing.

And the punch connected.

Sasuke flew forward several yards, a sharp pain spreading from his kidney up through his side and into his spine. He tensed and at the last moment curled into a ball and rolled into a standing position, facing his attacker. He gripped his side, squeezing. Breathing hurt, and so he drew his breaths shallowly, sharply. A trickle of blood passed his lower lip and stained his pale face.

Sakura stood across from him, well-endowed chest heaving, fists at the ready and feet apart in a ready stance.

"_That was fast." _Sasuke thought to himself. _"She caught me off guard."_

"Sasuke."

"_No Sasuke-kun?"_ He clutched his side tighter as a wave of pain hit him, and he grunted.

"Nice to see you Sakura." He ground out, now short of breath again.

"Fuck you." She dropped her stance and walked over to him, oblivious to the open-mouthed civilian crowd that had gathered.

"I'm on my guard now, I won't let you get in another punch like that."

"Really?" She smirked.

"_Since when did Sakura have an attitude?"_

She stopped at an arm's length from him, smiling.

He straightened a bit, bewildered by her facial expression.

Big mistake.

Very quickly, she closed the distance between them and sent a chakra-laced uppercut to his jaw, and he heard the crack before he felt the pain as he flew into the air once more.

"_Shit she's fast."_

Sakura used a body-flicker jutsu and appeared at his side, swinging her leg to connect with the side of his face just as he activated his sharingan. Just in time, Sasuke brought up a hand and caught her shin in his grip. Swinging himself around he threw his other hand in the way of a punch that she was throwing toward his face.

"_She's got something against my face apparently."_

A fraction of a second too late he realized that her fists were charged with chakra and that must have been how she managed to fracture his jaw... _"Aw, crap."_

Her punch landed in his hand, shattering his wrist, just a moment before they hit the ground.

Sasuke let go of her appendages and knelt on the ground, cradling his wrist in his right hand. Never, not in a hundred years, did he see himself kneeling at the mercy of Sakura Haruno. She crouched down to his level, forearms resting on her shapely thighs. Sasuke looked up at her.

"What gives, Sakura?"

She smirked.

"Payback of course." She brought her hand close to his face, fingers poised to flick him square in the forehead.

And that is how Sasuke found himself with his back to the wall in a convenience store, surrounded by broken shelves and merchandise. Sakura, or at least, a blurry shadow that _looked_ like Sakura stood in the hole blown in the front of the shop.

She laughed. "You'll be pissing blood for a few days with that first punch I gave you. And you should probably get to the hospital and have your other wounds looked at." She put her hands on her hips and smiled wickedly.

Sasuke stared at her. "Aren't you a medic?"

"That and more, _loser_." She frowned, looking unsatisfied. "Get better soon."

She turned on her heel and walked away as Sasuke picked himself up gingerly from the remains of the wares his entry had demolished. The shopkeeper glared, infuriated at the young man. Sasuke limped out of the hole Sakura put in the wall, _"There's another injury I'm not feeling yet." _he glanced down at his bleeding leg.

"Hey, bastard! Wait right there, who do you think is paying for this?" The shopkeeper screamed after him.

Sasuke sighed heavily and turned around. Obviously he had matters to attend to before he could have his injuries healed.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 3 : Something Kinda Funny_

Sasuke crouched at the end of the walkway that surrounded the courtyard at his house, on his knees. The scent of damp wood was in the air and one could hear the faint scrubbing of a brush, and the occasional _dunk, plop_ as it was rinsed in the bucket and the cleaning began again. Sasuke rested his tender wrist in his lap as he moved the brush in a circular motion with his other hand.

"Tch."

He scolded himself and scrubbed harder. Almost done.

"_Maybe I'll make a sandwich after this..."_ Sasuke thought faintly.

After speaking with the shopkeeper about repairing the damage that Sasuke supposedly single-handedly inflicted on the store, Sasuke had gone to the hospital where he was promptly healed by a surprisingly quiet and unhappy-looking Ino. On the way home he'd stopped by another store and grabbed some milk, rice, bread and ham. Thankfully, he hadn't run into Sakura again.

He had finally reached the end of the hall. Sasuke picked up the bucket and threw the excess water into the overgrown courtyard. It was starting to get dark already.

"_It's almost fall I guess."_

He turned to go back to the kitchen just as he heard a knock there. He quickened his pace and stashed the bucket under the sink on his way to the door. Sasuke slid the door open slowly.

"Yes?"

An older jounin stood at the door, wearing sunglasses, a bandana and a blue shirt.

"You look familiar."

He nodded adjusting his glasses.

"The name's Aoba. The Hokage wants to see you."

Sasuke arched his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"Ok. I'll be right there."

Aoba nodded and Sasuke closed his door.

"_Damn."_

xxxXXXXXXxxxxxx

Sasuke made his way up the dark stairs, the sun was already down by the time he reached the Hokage Tower. One hand rested on the sword at his waist as he trudged up the stairs. Reaching the door of her office he knocked twice, softly.

"Come in!" she yelled from within.

Sasuke sucked his teeth and proceeded into the office.

"Hokage-sama." He bent slightly at the waist.

"I have a mission for you." Tsunade smiled behind her hands mischievously. Shizune squeezed Ton-ton tighter.

Sasuke nodded. "What is it?"

"Since the destruction of Konoha there are still a few buildings that are under construction, some of the bigger ones anyway. I need you to go undercover at one of the sites and ensure that the project isn't sabotaged in any way."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow again. "Undercover?"

Tsunade nodded briefly. "You'll be using a henge and using the cover of a worker."

Disbelief was written all over Sasuke's face. "All day?"

"Is there a problem?" Tsunade fought hard to keep her face angry-looking.

Sasuke shook his head slightly. "I can do it. But I do have a question."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of sabotage are you anticipating? We are talking about workers here in Konoha, from Konoha, right?"

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, but some of the workers have been reported stealing materials from the site." She reached into her drawer for a bottle and placed it on the desk, following it with a small glass. "Resources are limited at a time like this and such behavior cannot be tolerated." She told him as she poured herself sake. Ton-ton wriggled in Shizune's arms in protest.

"Pui!"

Tsunade eyed the pig angrily over the rim of her glass and Shizune retreated a step, shielding herself and the pig with her forearm.

"So this is a C-class mission." Sasuke stated with finality.

"At its worst. At best, if you don't get into any fights, it'll be D-class."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "How long am I expected to be a part of this?" He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice.

"Details are in the scroll." Tsunade pulled a small forest green scroll from inside her desk.

Sasuke fought down a sigh and stepped forward to accept it, wincing slightly at the strain on his healing wrist as he took it from her hand.

Tsunade fought back a smirk. "Oh, are you injured?" she feigned concern.

"No." He shot back almost too quickly. "Is that all, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, you can go." She swallowed the last of her sake.

He turned and strode out quickly, shutting the door just a little forcefully.

Tsunade let out a huge laugh.

"Tsunade-sama! You are so cruel! How could you insult him like that?"

Tsunade grinned at Shizune. "He deserves it. Technically he's still a genin. I can't force the rest of team 7 to take D-class and C-class missions just because of him. Sakura and Kakashi are jounin, and Naruto is almost there as well. Legally, Sasuke shouldn't be taking anything over C-class. This is his chance to shine and prove to me that he'll do anything I ask him to do."

Shizune shook her head, looking straight at Tsunade.

"I think you're trying to humiliate him."

"Me? Humiliate him?" Tsunade poured herself another celebratory glass of sake. "He'll be undercover! No one will know it's him!" She smiled wickedly.

"Except him." Shizune frowned.

"Exactly." Tsunade grinned again.

"You're the cruelest person I know." Shizune hung her head in shame.

"Pui!"

XXXXXxxxxxxxxxX

Sasuke threw his sandwich onto the plate in disbelief as he stared at the mission scroll. Digging an indoor pool for the academy? For a month? What the hell?

"_Are you serious?"_

He'd never been assigned such a demeaning, humiliating mission in his whole life. He would rather track down lost pets than dig holes.

And the pay was meager too.

"Damn it!" Sasuke re-read the scroll, eyes wide, fists clenched.

Finally he seemed to snap out of the trance and shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, chewing angrily. He dumped the plate into the sink, pouting, still chewing his big mouthful of sandwich. Just as he was beginning to stomp from the room out to the walk, he heard another knock at his door.

"Fuck." he cursed under his breath, turning on his heel and stomping instead to the door.

"What?" He slid the door open angrily.

Naruto smiled widely at him.

"Hey Sasuke! I heard you got a solo mission! Cool, what is it?"

"It's classified." Sasuke lied.

"Really?" Naruto pursed his lips and scratched his head. "Then how come Baa-chan told me that you got a mission? If it was classified she wouldn't have said anything..."

"Tch." Sasuke huffed and turned, leaving the door open to his friend who waltzed in like he owned the place.

"Aaah, aah!" Naruto pointed. "That's the mission scroll!"

"Duh, Dobe." Sasuke scowled. He leaned against the kitchen counter and eyed the scroll darkly.

"Mmm, hmm." Naruto grasped the chair back with both hands and leaned over the table squinting at the paper as though he was trying to decipher hieroglyphics. He nodded periodically.

"Yeah, this is shit." He finally decided and straightened to look at Sasuke. "That's the worst mission I've ever seen in my life."

"Tch. I know. She's doing it on purpose. I heard her celebrating when I left the room." Sasuke crossed his arms. "It's a waste of time. I could be preparing for the chuunin exams."

"You don't need to." Naruto interjected.

The two men stared each other down. "Ah." Sasuke agreed and hung his head. "This is so embarrassing."

Naruto walked over to his friend and hoisted himself up onto the counter to sit. "Nah, no one will know its you except... you."

"Dobe, you had better not tell anyone." Sasuke's eyes flashed with hidden animosity.

"Calm down!" Naruto threw his hands up. "Never!"

"Hn." Sasuke looked at the floor. Then he pushed off the counter and turned to Naruto. "I need to go to bed. I have to get up early and be at the site by 6:00 tomorrow morning." He sighed mournfully.

"Right! I'll leave you alone to rest!" The blonde vaulted off the counter and stuffed his hands in his pockets, standing in the middle of the kitchen. "If you're on a mission that means that we won't have missions all month, at least Sakura and I won't. Sakura has work at the hospital anyway and I... well..." Naruto grinned widely. "I'm spending this week with Hinata."

Sasuke started in surprise. "Hyuuga?"

Naruto nodded, still smiling stupidly. "Yeah, who else do we know named Hinata?"

"Why the whole week?" Sasuke's mouth hung open slightly, dumbfounded at this news.

"She went on a long mission as a medic to a poorer village in Waterfall, as a goodwill kind of thing." Naruto threw his hand behind his head. "I kind of took the week off in advance. She's coming back tomorrow afternoon."

Sasuke stared for a moment. He closed his mouth suddenly. The number one Dobe had gotten a girlfriend before he, Konoha's number one heartthrob, had. "Is she going back or something?"

"Yeah, on Friday." Naruto kept on smiling. "She's really needed over there. She'll be coming back for good in two more months, she's already been gone for three. When she comes back I'm gonna ask her to marry me." The goofball smiled wider, if it was possible.

Sasuke was in a state of shock.

"Well," the tall blonde rocked on his heels, "I'll be going now. We'll get together on the weekend? Maybe we'll grab a couple of drinks, just you, me and Kakashi?"

Sasuke nodded, still in disbelief over Naruto's previous statements.

Naruto turned and waved as he walked out the door, sliding it shut behind him without turning around.

XxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXx

Sasuke threw himself into the mindless work he'd been assigned, coming home every night with mud caked to his boots and legs, exhausted but strangely satisfied with the progress at the site. He somewhat distanced himself from the other men at the site, but maintained a friendly enough demeanor. Mostly he regarded the mission as simply a means to an end, a small step on his path to revenge. Sasuke would do anything for that, and this assignment was no exception. Even so, he found himself looking forward to Friday evening. How ever tired he was, he'd be glad to clean up and down a couple glasses of shochu with his old teacher and his best friend. Slowly, his house was losing its stuffy smell and feel as well. Dishes dried on the rack by the sink, his chair was always pulled away from the table and his sheets were becoming rumpled and soft with frequent use. It was a welcoming place to him again.

In the meantime, Naruto spent his spare moments debating on how to approach Sakura about the weekend. Organizing meetings like this wasn't something that he did often, and he wondered a few times if he shouldn't just leave Sakura out of it. But it always came back to him that they were a team, and they needed for things to go back to normal if they would ever function as one again. Finally he approached her on her lunch in the canteen.

He poked his head in the doorway of the room, and in moments he had located her cropped pink style across the room. He waltzed in, determined and unwavering and stood next to her at the end of the table.

"Hi, Naruto." Sakura glanced at him and spoke through a mouthful of salad. She poked at a piece of chicken with her fork.

"Hey." Naruto smiled lopsidedly. "Looks good. You know they make chicken-flavored ramen if you like chicken..."

Sakura put on a fake smile. "I only put up with that salty mess to placate you. You know that."

Naruto maintained his own smile. "Yeah I guess so. Listen, Kakashi-sensei and I are going for drinks this Friday. You want to come?"

Sakura chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. She took another bite.

"I don't know if I'll have time. Is he coming back from his mission on Friday?"

Naruto shrugged. "He should be. If not it can just be you and me. Maybe I can get Kiba to come or something." He added quickly, knowing she wouldn't appreciate him asking her to go out with him on anything that even slightly resembled a 'date'.

"Mmm. Ok, we haven't been out for drinks in awhile. Not like the week of the festival last year when we went out every night." She frowned in remembrance of the week. "I was sick for days after that." She screwed up her face and stuck the tip of her tongue out.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah we totally overdid it. I had to drag you home every night. Haha."

She smirked at him. "I think it was the other way around," she said haughtily, "I have a high tolerance for alcohol. I was afraid I was going to have to detox your liver after all the spiced wine you guzzled!" She grinned.

"Ha." Naruto rubbed his neck. "So you'll be there?"

"Yeah what the hell. I'm not on call Friday so I should be good."

"Alright then, meet you at the usual spot? Around 9:00?"

"Un." She affirmed as she shoved a fork full of salad and chicken in her mouth. She stuck out her fist and Naruto pounded it. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away, as soon as his back was turned to her he grinned devilishly.

All was going according to plan.

He hoped Sakura wouldn't try to kill him when this was all over.

XxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxx

Sakura sat on a bench under the awning of the tea house about halfway between her house and Naruto's apartment. Crickets were chirping and the streetlight popped on above her. She had donned one of her red hoodies as it was cooling off in the evenings but she kept her shorts, skirt and sandals on. A group of people laughed loudly inside the establishment behind her and she looked at her watch.

"_9:06. Fucking Kakashi."_ She pouted slightly, one side of her mouth turning down in annoyance. _"I knew he was coming, I should have waited a half-hour before I left my house."_ she crossed her legs and arms.

Naruto and Sasuke made their way down the empty, wide street. The light at the end cut on about three blocks away. Naruto prayed to Kami that the tea house would be loud tonight.

"We usually meet up ahead, around the corner."

"Hn." Sasuke acknowledged the statement, casting a sidelong glance at Naruto.

"_Worst actor ever. He's nervous."_

Naruto was making small noises.

"Nnnn..."

"You ok?"

"_One more block." _thought Naruto worriedly.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks.

"Hey."

Naruto turned to him.

"Oh, nothing! I'm just worried about Hinata's journey back to Waterfall!" Naruto insisted, but he still wasn't smiling. Sasuke never asked what was bothering him and Naruto was already firing off excuses. Something was definitely up. Sasuke shook his head and kept walking. Naruto sped up just a little and Sasuke matched his pace.

"_Ten feet... Five feet..."_ Naruto ticked off the distance in his head as he took what could very well be his last steps on this earth.

The two men rounded the corner and Sakura leapt off of the bench, speech prepared, ready to berate Kakashi for his tardiness. Instead her jaw hung slack, and red began to creep up her neck.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto half-yelled. "Kakashi couldn't make it and I ran into Sasuke on the way here and thought it'd be great if we all went out instead, you know, just Team 7 like old times, huh?" Naruto exclaimed hopefully.

Sakura looked like she was ready to blow a gasket. Sasuke was also beyond pissed. They both stared Naruto down silently fuming, calculating.

"Oh, come on you guys, it can't be that bad, we'll have fun!" Sweat was dripping down his neck now.

Sakura cracked her knuckles and flexed her neck muscles.

"I'm going to _murder_ you- you lying, conniving-"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Don't you _Sakura-chan_ me, Naruto. I love you like a brother but you've gone too far this time!" She cocked her arm back for the punch and Naruto covered his face with his arms.

"Naruto's right." Sasuke said plainly before she could throw her punch.

"What?" Sakura looked at him in disbelief, still fuming.

"We actually are a team. If we can't be civil to one another in our own hometown, how are we supposed to cooperate in a professional environment?" He looked her piercingly in the eyes.

She lowered her arm and Naruto relaxed a little, but kept his guard up.

"_Ah. He's been hit before..." _Sasuke acknowledged mentally.

"You've won this round," Sakura said through clenched teeth, "but I _definitely_ haven't forgiven you yet. Let's go." She turned and walked across the street in the direction of Yuuhi's Lounge.

Sasuke and Naruto followed. Naruto looked a little shook up and kept glancing ahead at Sakura. Sasuke shot him several dirty looks on the way to the pub. Sakura walked briskly, hands in the pockets of her hoodie.

Finally they reached the lounge and took their seats at a booth in the corner, Sakura sandwiched in between Naruto and Sasuke, on Naruto's not-so-subtle suggestion. Sakura seemed determined to ignore the piss out of Sasuke, and Naruto seemed keen on talking about everything and anything to keep the other two occupied. The waitress was approaching their table now, and so finally Naruto shut up.

"What can I get you three?" The civilian woman smiled charmingly at Sasuke.

"I'll have a Suna Tea, easy ice." Sakura ordered first.

"Tall or short?"

Sakura looked sideways at Sasuke purposefully.

"_Tall_." she intoned pointedly.

"Mhhm, yes, and for you _fine_ gentlemen?" the waitress asked, still looking at Sasuke.

"I'll have a Beck's!" Naruto answered cheerfully. "In the bottle!"

"Shochu." Sasuke muttered.

The waitress smiled brightly and turned, "I'll be right back!" Her hips swung unnecessarily.

Sasuke kept his vision carefully trained on the beat-up table.

"Who is she trying to impress?" Sakura complained. "Even now, you're still getting all the attention!"

"And you care why?" Sasuke huffed. "I thought you _hated_ me."

Sakura pouted.

"What's in a Suna Tea anyway?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura grinned as she scratched at the edge of the already damaged table.

"A shot of vodka, a shot of gin, a shot of rum, a half of triple sec, a splash of sour and a splash of Suna malt soda. A half-shot more of each in a tall."

"Holy crap." Sasuke ventured a look in her direction.

"What, afraid I can't handle it?" She smirked.

"No..." he hesitated. He needed to tread _very carefully_ around everything Sakura said tonight. At least, until the teas took effect. "It just seems strong."

"Tastes like tea." Naruto interjected. "It's good. But it's not a girly drink."

"Well yeah, its not fruity." Sasuke agreed. "Suna malt is a little bitter if you ask me."

"But the sour balances it out." Sakura finished.

"_Wow. They're actually getting along..." _Naruto was visibly relieved after this exchange of words. Neither ninja was smiling but at least they weren't pummeling each other. That was a start.

"Here's your drinks!" The waitress served them each.

Sasuke raised his hand slightly and that was all it took to get the woman's attention. "Can you bring me a bottle of this?" He pointed to his drink.

"The whole thing?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah."

The waitress nodded and turned away. She must have seen him and Sakura conversing because she didn't seem so _friendly_ this time around. As soon as she turned around Sasuke downed half of his glass. Sakura sipped a good amount through her straw and nodded in approval, as Naruto sucked on his bottle like a man dying of thirst.

A couple of drinks later, the three were talking loudly over each other, arguing about what stones were better for sharpening kunai on.

"_All according to plan..."_ Naruto thought sluggishly.

He continued to look at Sakura as she listed points in favor of the new ceramic stones inlaid with diamonds.

"It's really the pinnacle of sharpening technology, Sasuke, I'm surprised you've never seen one. They're bloody fucking expensive, like 10,000 ryo for a one-sided stone but the edge is superb."

Sasuke waved his glass at her, fairly far gone. Sasuke was not keeping up very well, Naruto noticed through the haze of his own drunkenness. He snickered.

"Yeah. Yeah well. Yeah, you know your fancy schmancy stone, that's all well and good, but _what_ is your kunai _made of, where is the METAL from-_" he emphasized, "the content is important. And with a-" Here he paused and held a fist to his mouth and hiccuped in the back of his throat, "Ahh..." he sighed. "With a good whetstone like the ones you can get in Wave Country – you know what I'm talking about Sakura?" He leaned in a bit, "If you have the right combination of tools, then your kunai will hold an edge for a long time." Sakura nodded the whole time.

"Hey guys, is that Shino?" Naruto's ADD kicked in. "I gotta go tell him something real quick." Naruto stood and walked away unevenly.

Sakura just nodded and waved to him, too far gone to care if it was Tsunade herself in the bar. Sasuke didn't even notice, now on a terribly interesting diatribe about sword-smithing.

Sakura interrupted him mid-sentence, after nearly nodding off.

"Hey. Hey Sasuke."

"Yeah?"

"Hey. That's really interesting, the heat thing with the coals and the cold thing with the water, but listen." She nudged his shoulder with her hand. Sasuke sat with his arms on the table, twirling his glass in between his hands, eyes fixated on it.

"Yeah what is it?" He continued to look at the glass, mesmerized. _"Shiny..."_ he thought.

Sakura shook his shoulder and he slowly turned to face her. _"Pretty." _he thought.

"TRUCE!" Sakura slurred in Sasuke's face. He stared blankly.

"Like, you don't -hic- you won't hate me anymore."

She nodded vehemently. "I won't beat you up either." She grabbed his bottle and poured his glass full. Sasuke eyed the drink warily.

"I don't know if I can drink this..."

She shook her head. "You have to. Look, I'll drink too." She grabbed the shochu bottle determinedly, regardless of it taking her two tries to actually grip the neck.

She leaned in close to his ear and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. Sasuke didn't care.

"We'll drink to new beginnings, our friendship and your... new life." she paused. He could smell the heavy alcohol stench on her sweet breath, and he held in another hiccup.

"Ok." he agreed slowly.

She looked him in the eye and he looked at her. Sasuke's vision dipped, swam and spun. Sakura grabbed his hand and they looped arms and she tilted her head back, gulping what was left of the bottle. Sasuke resigned himself and held his breath to chug the drink, hoping to ignore the taste. The duo slammed their respective vessels down on the table and immediately Sasuke felt the effects of the last draught. He hastily slammed some cash onto the table, holding his insides in with the last of his will and ran out the front door, Sakura chasing his heels.

Moments later they shared a precious moment in the alley behind Yuuhi's, Sasuke retching violently into the street and Sakura holding his dark locks away from the spit and vomit, laughing the whole time. Sasuke finally finished as the last few painful dry heaves ended and he spit, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked up at Sakura and grinned.

She grinned right back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 4 : I Will Be Your Friend_

Weeks turned into months and for Team 7, time flew by in a whirlwind. Sasuke made chuunin with ease, and in turn he gained trust and reputation throughout the village as the team took on more dangerous missions thanks to Sasuke's new rank. The jounin of Konoha even seemed to warm up to him with each passing week. That may have been due to his more _social_ tendencies, as he along with Naruto and Sakura frequented Yuuhi's at least twice a month. The three had regained that special bond of friendship they had enjoyed in their younger years, and with Sakura's transformation into the formidable kunoichi she had become one could say that bond was even stronger now than it had been in the past. The three watched each others' backs and complimented each other very well on missions, sometimes heading out even without Kakashi.

Once Sasuke reached the one year anniversary of being released from prison he became eligible to apply for jounin. Naruto had waited so they could apply together, and Kakashi and Yamato sponsored Sasuke and Naruto, respectively. The two boys passed the written exams (Naruto had surprisingly little trouble) and the practical exams at the top of their year. Now they were qualified to take on high-paying, high-risk A and S-class missions solo.

And Sasuke was that much closer to his number one goal.

At 13, Itachi had already been captain of his own ANBU squad, while Sasuke had hardly made genin at that age. But Sasuke felt he was finally catching up to his brother. He still lacked the fabled eyes which his brother requested of him in return for the right to be acknowledged as a formidable opponent in battle. But that didn't mean that Itachi couldn't be defeated without them. Sasuke was slowly forming a plan that depended on the beginnings of his clan's revival to be carried out with any degree of success.

Sasuke and Naruto decided together that their next step would be ANBU. After that, Sasuke would have little time to make his move. At 21, he was already nearing the peak of his career and he could feel it. Time was of the essence.

XxxxxxxxXXXXXXxx

Sasuke, ever calculating, decided to play it by ear and see how he could get Sakura alone. He didn't know any other women half as well, he determined, and he didn't even come close to admiring or _liking_ anyone else in the village as much as he did Sakura. Not that he'd admit it. Every move must be cold and calculated, with a purpose. This was how Uchiha Sasuke operated. And before long, an opportunity presented itself and Sasuke's hideous plan began to unfurl.

Sasuke and Naruto sat outside one of the more popular dango shops in the village, Naruto munching happily on the multicolored sweets while Sasuke sipped on some unsweetened green tea.

"Have you talked to Kakashi about the ANBU recommendations?" Sasuke inquired between sips.

Naruto shook his head. "We just made jounin three months ago, Sasuke."

"I know." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto grinned.

"You think they'll take us?"

"With your sage mode and rasen-shuriken? Definitely." Sasuke blew on his drink.

Naruto's grin faded a bit. "What are you bringing to the table, Sasuke? Kirin?"

"Not just Kirin. Between Kakashi and myself I think I've mastered something like mangekyou sharingan." He imparted quietly, murmuring over his tea. "And remember, what comes easily to you and I, techniques like rasengan and chidori, take years for other shinobi to master. They are A-class moves."

"Cocky bastard." Naruto smirked mischievously.

"I could say the same about you." Sasuke sipped his bitter brew stoically. "We can definitely make ANBU. We passed the jounin exams with ease."

"ANBU is on a whole other level though..." Naruto looked doubtful.

"Who all are ANBU? We could kick their asses any day." Sasuke stated, setting his tea down. "I can count plenty of people. Neji, Kakashi, Genma. Sakura failed last year so we know she isn't at that level yet. We have definitely surpassed her in many ways. There are people in ANBU who graduated two, three years after us. The only ANBU I can think of who could maybe give me a hard time is Shikamaru."

Naruto nodded throughout the reassuring speech. "True, true. I've personally beat the crap out of Genma." Naruto smiled at the memory.

"It doesn't count if they're drunk and you're not." Sasuke reproached. "Before I make ANBU I need to get a girlfriend, Naruto." Sasuke allowed a small look of pain to cross his face. "What if I get sent on some deadly mission? I need to sow the seeds of my clan now, before it's too late." He sighed.

Naruto nodded halfheartedly. "If you get sent on some deadly mission that you don't survive then that means your brother will still be alive. I'm sure if you're not around he will try to revive your clan." Naruto blathered on insensitively. But Sasuke was used to his best friend's quirks by now. "I don't see Grandma sending the last Uchiha on some suicide mission anyway. She'll send me!" Naruto smiled, beaming, and pointed to himself with his dango stick.

Sasuke shook his head and sighed. "People run away from those missions, Dobe." he paused, letting that comment sink in for a moment. "Suicide for anyone but you I guess..." He muttered, then tipped his glass up downing the last of his tea. At that moment he caught a glimpse of pink out of the corner of his eye, far down near the end of the street. He set his cup aside on the table.

"Naruto!" He hissed, leaning across the table. The blonde ninja leaned forward a tad.

"What?"

"Sakura is coming. Look, this weekend I want to go for drinks with her. Encourage her." Sasuke's eyes narrowed with the sensitivity of the issue.

Naruto looked at his friend with equal intensity. "What are you trying to do to Sakura-chan?" Naruto wasn't buying the whole _Sasuke wants to date Sakura_ bit his fellow ninja was trying to push.

"Look at me." Sasuke implored. "She loved me for... a long time." Sasuke's face twisted at the thought. "I'd like to have a chance... to see if there's still anything there." He danced dangerously close to having to spell out the words for Naruto.

Naruto nodded slightly, but his happy mood had completely vanished. "You had better not hurt her Sasuke. I'll rasengan your face into a bloody mess if you do." He was dead serious and it was written all over his face.

Sasuke nodded. "I'm not going to _try_ anything." He reassured Naruto. "Look, I'll explain in more detail later." He promised, trying to placate Naruto. If Sakura saw him like this she'd never buy into anything Sasuke said. The inseparable trio played so heavily off of the others' moods, it was necessary for Naruto to not only act normal, but really _be_ normal around Sakura, or Sasuke's plan would never find its footing. "The next time we go out, it'll be just you and me and I'll buy."

Naruto's face split into a fox-like grin. "Dinner too."

"Tch. Fine." _"Fuck."_ Sasuke knew he was going to have to dig deep to cover his ass for this stunt.

"Ha! Gotcha Sasuke, you're so screwed!" Naruto laughed at the dark-haired man and pointed in his face from across the table. "There's no turning back now!"

At that moment Sakura arrived at the small shop. "No turning back from what?" Sasuke could almost swear she looked suspicious. He was reminded vaguely of the time the three of them had tried to trick Kakashi into showing them his face by buying him ramen.

"Sasuke and I are betting on who can get recommendations to ANBU faster." Naruto lied with ease, keeping his promise, but still mashing the bottom of his shinobi sandal onto Sasuke's foot brutally, unnecessarily. They were both ninja after all, trained in the arts of deception and cunning. Except for Naruto, maybe.

Sasuke looked blankly at Sakura, who stood shaking her head lightly. "You guys are dumb."

"What's dumb about it?" Naruto raged, standing to face her, missing her jealous pursed lips.

"You guys are dumb for betting about something so stupid!" She swung at him, and he ducked. "Don't duck!" She yelled.

"Don't hit me!" Naruto retorted.

Sasuke stood. "Cut it out, guys." His teammates stopped their bickering abruptly and turned to him. "What are we doing this weekend? None of us have missions?" He asked, anticipating Naruto's response.

"Hehe." Naruto smiled, embarrassed, palms turned forward. "I have to go to Wave again."

"Again?" Sakura exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeaaahh..." Naruto shrugged.

Sakura began to pout, but Naruto spoke before she could, right on time.

"_Thank Kami..."_ Sasuke nonchalantly wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Don't let me put a damper on you guys' good time. You guys go ahead and have fun without me. You can make it up to me later." He grinned at Sakura, then Sasuke. He grinned at Sasuke for awhile actually.

"_Little snot."_ Sasuke thought. "Hn." He grunted in agreement.

Sakura stood motionless for a moment. "O..kay, we could do that. Yes, that's definitely an option." the young kunoichi looked lost.

"Don't be a spoil-sport Sakura! You guys will have a good time!" Naruto encouraged.

Sakura smiled weakly.

Sasuke smirked. "You still owe me drinks remember?" She immediately frowned at him. "180,000 ryos' worth." His expression just did more to bring out her anger.

"It's your own fucking fault I pounded you that day! Are you seriously still giving me shit about that more than a year later?" Her hands balled into fists at her sides. "Where the hell do you get off acting like I owe you Sasuke?"

Sasuke wiped the smirk from his face. _"Shit, too far! Regroup!"_

"Nah, you don't owe me anything." He tried to be suave about the whole situation, which still seemed to be a sore spot for Sakura somehow. "It's just that I _did_ pay for an entire shop's worth of merchandise, and a broken wall to boot." Sakura's eyes flashed. "The least you could do is be nice to me and hang out this weekend." Sasuke pulled his statements into a nice package and sealed the deal with a genuine-looking smile. As could be expected for one being both guilt-tripped and _smiled_ at by an Uchiha, Sakura lost all sense of logical and rational thought in her brain and flopped back onto Inner Sakura's reflexes which, when involving Sasuke, always responded with a resounding...

"Yes, you're right Sasuke-kun. See you Friday at the usual place!" without coming off too sickeningly sweet, she threw him a suspiciously Kakashi-like eye crinkling smile and turned on her heel, beating Inner Sakura back with a metaphorical rake. _"Damn him to hell! Him and that infuriatingly disarming smile..." _She almost stopped in her tracks, but instead slowed her pace as she made her way back to her house, dreamily burning the image of a happy Sasuke into her brain.

The boys watched her retreating back disbelievingly. Naruto looked sidelong at Sasuke with an open mouth. Sasuke just _hmph_ed and shoved his hands in his pockets, turned and stalked home, leaving Naruto alone in front of the dango stand to gawk at nothing by himself.

XXXxxxxxxXXXXXX

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, peeling an orange and staring at the clock. It was eight thirty on Friday evening, he had about twenty minutes before he had to leave if he didn't want to work up too much of a sweat running across the village. He popped a slice of fruit in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Instead of his usual cargo pants, shirt and jounin flak vest, Sasuke donned his old outfit with the yukata-styled shirt and lightweight pants, still wearing his hitae-ate. Luckily it didn't get too cold in November in the Fire country.

"_Don't want to go too casual."_

He munched some more.

"_I really hope this works. I don't love her,"_ he thought vaguely. _"But I need her for this plan to work. I might be able to push this along in six months if complications don't arise."_ He threw another orange slice into his mouth leisurely. _"After that I should be able to enact the next phase almost immediately. I'm lucky that she's still as hopeless as ever. One smile and she's putty in my hands."_ He smirked. Sasuke hated to smile though, so this still required some work from him. _"I'll put my shinobi training to work for this assignment I've given myself, that's for sure. Fooling another shinobi is no joke."_ He would be careful not to underestimate the pinkette kunoichi. _"However much I hate it, I will have to play the loving boyfriend at least until we get married. I have to keep my head too. No sex until she says, "I do!" I'll make her wait."_ Sasuke sighed heavily at the prospect of the facade he was going to have to maintain for the next few months around Sakura. Sure he could still be Serious Sasuke, but he'd have to make exceptions for Sakura, smiling softly when he saw her, making _physical contact_ with her, maybe even kissing her. Even so, Sasuke knew in his heart that he would never develop feelings for her, and that his selfish little 'mission' would always come first.

It's very hard to _love_ someone when the last time you did that the people you loved were murdered in front of you.

Sasuke righted the chair and stood, scooping up the orange peelings from the table and dropping them in the trash on his way out.

Meanwhile, Sakura sat in front of the tea house sipping on some hot green tea that she had ordered to go. It was a cool November night, winter was relatively warm this year. She admitted to herself that she was a little nervous. But then, Sasuke had never shown a desire to spend time with just her before. It was almost kind of like a date. _"Still handsome..."_ Inner Sakura sing-songed. Outer Sakura kept her mouth upturned in a gentle smile and drank a little more tea. _"He's changed."_ She thought. _"He seems happier with us, a better person overall. I can't believe he's finally giving me a chance! I knew all that training with Tsunade-sama would pay off!"_ She cheered herself on. Then, she stopped herself. _"We don't want to get hurt..."_ Inner Sakura warned. _"I'll bet if someone better came along he'd go for them instead."_ Sakura frowned. In all honesty, she was one of the strongest kunoichi in the village, and surely the youngest of the strong kunoichi. That bolstered her spirits a bit. Still, she sighed, focusing intently on the cup in her hands. _"I want to love him with all my heart, to show him how wonderful things could be for us. But I'll have to hold back for now..."_ She turned and looked up as she heard soft footfalls behind her. Sakura waved at the approaching figure and in turn, he raised a hand to her. As he came up to her, he forced his lips to purse into a small, if sad, smile. Apparently that was enough for Sakura.

She hopped up from the bench and smiled brightly, then downed the rest of her now lukewarm tea and tossed the cup into a nearby bin.

"Let's go!"

They walked side by side down the street toward their hangout of choice. Neither said anything, they just walked purposefully toward the establishment. Once they arrived, Sasuke held the door for her and she murmured an incoherent sound of thanks. Sasuke nodded and as the door shut behind him the two realized that several kunoichi, taken or not were staring at Sasuke with malice in their eyes. Some even cast disdainful looks at Sakura, who was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. She took a shuffling step backwards into Sasuke and felt the heat rising in her facial region. Without missing a beat, the stoic man grasped her shoulder firmly but reassuringly and steered her toward a booth. Both ninja could feel the eyes on them, burning.

They had never been here without Naruto.

They sat across from one another, Sasuke throwing an arm over the back of the seat, Sakura crossing her legs and sinking her back into the upholstery. She was doing her best to ignore the glares and glances cast their way, and after a few moments, the bar's patrons did indeed look away. She and Sasuke sat in relative silence for all of a few minutes. Sasuke examined her emotionlessly. Sakura in turn examined the table, still able to see the pale peachy color of the skin of his chest peeking out from between the juncture of his yukata as well as the large hand that rested on the tabletop. Finally, the waitress appeared.

"Shochu."

Sakura looked up at the other woman.

"Uh, warm sake. And a couple of those toasted dried fish."

Sasuke broke the ice with his interjection as he leaned forward.

"Make it four." He met Sakura's eyes. She smiled back, relaying her comfort at his proximity.

The waitress nodded and turned without a word.

Sakura leaned forward as well and rested her elbows on the table, cradling her face in her hands.

Sasuke stared at her, slightly bewildered. He didn't know what to say. Well, it wasn't so much that as he had nothing to say to her. _"I'll let her speak first. She's good at that..."_

Right on cue, she started with small talk.

"So, what did you do today? Did you train any?"

He nodded.

"Ah. Taijutsu?"

"No. Practiced with my sword for a couple hours then went for a run."

Sakura looked surprised. _"He's actually speaking with me..."_

"Where do you run?" She inquired. "I went running today too, I'm surprised I didn't see you."

"Around the perimeter of the complex." was his simple reply.

"Oh. Isn't it pretty flat there?"

"Hn."

She was grasping at straws now. Uchiha Sasuke was not known for his great conversation skills.

"Why don't you run around the village? It stands to reason that you'll improve with more realistic training. The whole world isn't flat, Sasuke."

At that moment, the waitress arrived with their snacks and drinks, which she deposited quietly onto the table.

Sasuke picked up Sakura's warm sake bottle and hastily she grabbed her cup with both hands. He poured it full, then poured himself a glass of shochu.

He glanced at her. "Fan girls."

Sakura made an "o" shape with her mouth, and then they both drank. Sakura sighed briefly as she put her cup down. "That's why I run in the evenings. Not because of fan girls I mean, because of Lee." She scrunched her nose.

Sasuke snorted. "He's still on that?"

Sakura nodded, finally they had fallen on something to talk about. "He's such a pill! He's always bringing me flowers and crap-" She took another swig of sake and a bite of fish. Sasuke refilled her cup. "He doesn't understand the words _'Leave me alone'_!" She shook her head. "Sometimes he'll run in the evenings too though. And I'm not going to sacrifice my training just 'coz some loser is following me. But really, I seriously need to buy a music player." She grimaced slightly. "He won't shut up!" She exclaimed.

"You could run someplace else." Sasuke suggested.

"Where Lee won't find me?" Sakura cast Sasuke a disbelieving look. "That boy can find me anywhere in the village."

Sasuke shook his head. _"Too subtle."_

"Run with me in the morning?"

Inner Sakura's eyes bugged out of her head and her jaw hit the metaphorical floor of Sakura's brain.

"_HELL YES!"_ her inner cheered.

Sakura just stared at Sasuke for a moment. "Why are you being so... friendly, Sasuke?"

"Tch." Sasuke slowly moved his hand over hers, giving her time to flee. When she didn't, they made contact there, his cold hand enveloping her warm, calloused one. "Don't ask why." Sasuke looked at her with those piercing dark eyes. "Just tell me if you'd like to." The words hung heavily between the two, carrying more meaning than he probably intended. The tension was almost palpable.

"If I'd like to what?" Sakura whispered, suddenly feeling eyes on her. Someone was looking again, but it didn't really matter at this point.

Sasuke smiled another tiny smile, slowly. "Run with me." This time the words really did carry a double meaning.

Sakura was still doubtful. She had to push it. She leaned forward and in a bold moment of insanity covered his hand with her other one, squeezing.

"When?" She asked in a low voice, eyes wide.

Sasuke felt so self-satisfied, so sated and powerful in that moment.

"Always." He brought his other hand to her face and brushed his fingers along her jawline, barely touching her.

She gasped at the intimate contact Sasuke was making with her cheek.

"Y-yes." She stammered. "I think its a good plan."

Sasuke nodded in acceptance. Not wanting to rush her too much, he leaned back into a more casual posture, but left his hand in between hers. She picked up that hand that covered his and downed the remainder of her drink.

Later that night, she and Sasuke left together as he'd decided to walk her home. Their hands were loosely entwined and the breeze typical of the temperate Fire country swept gently between and around them. The short walk was enjoyed in silence, Sakura was finally relaxed around Sasuke, be it the alcohol or her own acceptance of her situation that initiated the comfort. They finally reached her apartment and she broke their contact as she made to walk up the stairs. Sasuke followed her. She fished for her keys along the way. Reaching her doorstep she turned to him. Sasuke was slouched against the doorjamb, left leg crossed under the right which supported his weight. Sakura stuck the key in the lock without looking, and quickly leaned to Sasuke's face, her lips ghosting across his cheekbone. He didn't reciprocate, but he didn't resist either. She pulled away and cracked open the door to her domicile.

"Goodnight Sasuke."

He nodded, pushing off the wall.

"'Night."

He turned and walked away. In that same moment, Sakura went into her apartment and took her shoes off, all at an infuriatingly slow pace, controlled calm filling her mind as her heart pounded deafeningly. The door shut with a click.

"Sasuke."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 5 : I Can't Say No_

Sakura arrived at the gates to the Uchiha complex at precisely 5:50 the next morning. Admittedly she wasn't at the top of her game after a late night out the evening before, but what was a little hangover in the face of necessary training? Sakura was clothed in a simple red tank top and red hoodie, along with white yoga pants. In one hand she carried a small bag with something for breakfast in it. She waited a few moments, then peered in. _"Maybe Sasuke thinks I know where he lives?"_ She didn't want to wander aimlessly through the complex; it wasn't as though she hadn't been here before, but she didn't know Sasuke's house from any other in the compound. A thought occurred to her.

She could trail him.

Her task proved to be a simple one for a shinobi of her caliber. She followed his footsteps which were beaten repetitively into the same path through the maze of buildings. She arrived at his doorstep at 5:53 she noted, glancing at her digital watch. She knocked timidly on the wood frame of the doorjamb and almost immediately, Sasuke slid the door open. She started. He stood, slightly slouched, relaxed. Sasuke was truly blessed with the best genes. His pale skin contrasted starkly with the darkness of the kitchen behind him, his muscular arms appeared very toned and defined to Sakura in the wintery morning light, as did his torso. His dorsal muscles were just visible from this angle. His forearms were wrapped, as usual. Sasuke wore nothing but a well-worn pair of sweatpants that must have been black at one point. He looked at her inquisitively for a moment, ever silent, then turned into the kitchen and went about his business. She took that he left the door open to her as an invitation, and crossed the threshold, dropping her bag lightly on the table.

"I brought us some breakfast."

Sasuke turned from the sink where he was washing his hands and nodded in what Sakura assumed was appreciation.

Sakura took advantage of the awkward silence that followed to look around. The counter spanned the entire western wall of the room, and above the counter was a large window looking out onto the tidy courtyard. A dishwasher sat just to the right of Sasuke, under the counter, and on the northern wall opposite the door, the stove and the fridge were partitioned by an additional counter space and corresponding cabinet. There was a rather large space to move around in nearer to Sasuke, and the table Sakura stood by rested at least six feet from her partner.

Overall, it was quite a good sized space to cook in. Sakura began to daydream a little as Sasuke dried his hands, wondering how nice it would be for the two of them to sit enjoying the dinner that she had slaved in the huge kitchen to make for the two. Something elaborate, she thought, roasted marinated chicken breasts with salad and seasoned rice and sprigs of various green vegetables, and a homemade cake for dessert.

Sasuke leaned quietly against the counter, hands propped on the edge of the sink as he watched her. He glanced at the clock, and she caught the motion, snapping out of her dream.

"Ready?" He inquired quietly.

Sakura nodded briefly and fairly flew out the door, Sasuke on her heels as he slipped on his sandals. He took the lead and she fell into step slightly behind him and to his right. They moved at a good pace, Sakura had no trouble keeping up but there was no breath left for conversation.

Just as well.

She ignored the faint pain that burned up her calves through the first quarter-mile and focused on other things. The sounds of Sasuke's metered breaths and the delicate, mingling scent of their sweat, weak now but strengthening as they continued on their course. She glanced from side to side at the houses she had seen a few times before, but had never taken the care to really notice. To think that once, people had lived and laughed and cried here. The place looked so _desolate_ now. It saddened her.

Sakura and Sasuke finished their fourth lap and Sasuke turned down the street to his house. Sakura estimated they'd gone roughly two miles. Nice and easy.

Sasuke removed his shoes while Sakura sat on the floor and tugged off her own, along with her hoodie. Sakura stood and grabbed the bag she had brought with her and smiled.

"It's not much, but its very healthy." She pulled the baggie of granola from the small tote. Sasuke eyed it as he filled two glasses with water from the tap. "It's home-made, with honey, so it's not very sweet." Sasuke nodded and gulped some water. He finished his glass and motioned to hers. She walked over to him, still clutching the baggie in one hand and grasped the glass with the other. Sakura leaned against the counter, copying Sasuke and drank greedily. He watched her silently the entire time. She reached behind herself and replaced the glass on the counter and turned to her now boyfriend. They weren't more than a foot apart. Sakura's slight nervousness was apparent.

"Where are the bowls?" She made eye contact. Sasuke pointed to the cupboard just behind him, making no move to get out of the way. Sakura smiled. If he wouldn't move, she'd just work around him. No use in being nervous now! It's not like they hadn't been in much more compromising situations together, namely on missions and in combat situations. Sakura stepped up to Sasuke and reached past his head, opening the cabinet door slightly. He tilted his head a little and she swung the door open further. Second shelf, bowls. She frowned, looking at him. He'd known she would have to reach for them. Sasuke smirked. Sakura pouted, determined not to make a big deal out of their proximity outside of a professional situation. She closed the distance in between them and steadied a hand on the counter, her forearm pressing into Sasuke's side. She threw her left leg behind her and her thigh rested on Sasuke's own as she stood on her toes and reached up to the bowls, grabbing two and shutting the cabinet with her elbow. She turned abruptly and placed them on the table, then poured the granola in and got the milk from the fridge. Sasuke smirked on, watching her every move. If she didn't know any better she'd think he was looking at... She turned abruptly to find Sasuke focused on her... _assets_.

"Like what you see?" Sakura teased.

Sasuke smiled. "You've changed a lot in the last few years, Sakura."

She fairly beamed at the compliment. Well, from Sasuke, that counted as a compliment. She stowed the milk in the fridge.

"Spoons?" She smiled as well. Inner Sakura cringed slightly. _"You're not picking up his taciturn speech patterns are you?"_ Sakura ignored her alter-ego. Sasuke didn't budge an inch.

"Don't tell me." Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly she didn't feel so very comfortable anymore. _"Damn."_ Her eyebrow twitched as she made her way over to him. "Please move over, Sasuke." She stood in front of him and tried to wave him away from the drawer. Sasuke's smirk deepened. _"Why __is he pushing me like this?" _Sakura thought, more than a little flustered. She threw a hand out to push him out of the way and he caught her wrist in his hand and pulled her to him, catching her in his arms. Her hands now rested on his pectorals and his firm hands spanned across her lower back. Admittedly, love or no, he was enjoying the view down Sakura's shirt. _"Hormones."_ She turned her head up to look at him abruptly, shocked.

"Is this so bad, Sakura? What are you afraid of?" Sasuke murmured as he lowered his face to hers, bringing his lips to the shell of her ear. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm enjoying having you here?" He caught the top of her small appendage between his lips gently. "I may not look like it but I have been wanting this." He whispered, pulling his face away from her ear and bringing himself to look into her innocent green eyes. "Please believe me, Sakura. This is difficult for me." He whispered, almost inaudibly. Sakura brought a hand up to his neck and her other arm shifted to his waist and she closed her eyes in anticipation of what was coming. Sasuke looked at her admittedly beautiful face before he closed his mouth uncertainly over her full lips in a soft kiss.

Sasuke himself couldn't believe the feelings that erupted deep inside of his chest as his lips locked onto hers. _He_ was supposed to be manipulating_ her_. How could this be...? But he couldn't bring himself to break their contact. Sakura moaned quietly under his kiss and he brought a hand to cup the side of her face and lace his fingers into her cherry-blossom locks. He deepened their contact and found a rhythm, crushing his lips against her plush, pink ones. Finally, breathless, they pulled apart and locked gazes again, mere centimeters from each other. Sakura was breathing heavily and her breasts pressed into Sasuke's chest tightly with each gasp. Sasuke found his heart was racing and the two stood relatively motionless for a couple of minutes. Sasuke finally broke their contact, slowly sidling from under her and subtly guiding her hand to the drawer. He strode to the table and sat in his usual spot, struggling from leaning onto the table, head in his hands.

"_This can't be happening."_

Sakura silently plopped their spoons into the bowls and began munching on the now not-so-crunchy granola. Sasuke took a bite as well and was surprised yet again that fine morning.

It wasn't half bad.

XxxXXXxxxxXXXXX

Sasuke met with Naruto later that week, once Naruto got back from his mission and finished turning in his report. The energetic blonde ran into him as he was shopping for breakfast items. Granola was damn good, but a man needed some variety.

"Sasuke!" Naruto smiled brightly. "Dinner!"

Sasuke sweat dropped. _"Right for the throat."_

"I'm shopping."

"I can see that. I'll help you!" The blonde headed for his favorite aisle.

"If you must head that way, grab some miso." Sasuke nodded toward the fridge that was clearly on the path to the ramen aisle. Naruto nodded.

"The light stuff." Sasuke said.

"Un." Naruto stalked away purposefully.

Sasuke turned back to the vegetables, then turned back to the blonde who had already grabbed the fermented paste. "And get some of the small wakame?" He raised his voice slightly. Naruto waved at his friend in acknowledgment.

"_Green onions. Uhh..."_ Sasuke's brow creased slightly. _"Dashi."_

He made his way toward his friend, whom he was sure would still be starting at stacks of instant ramen. He was right, as usual.

"Dashi." He said pointedly. Naruto nodded, hands on his hips.

"Fish ramen is ok I guess."

"No, I need dashi for miso soup."

"Don't you have this stuff at home?"

"No." the raven-haired man replied curtly, grabbing a box of the fish bouillon. "Come on." he called to Naruto, backtracking to the same fridge where the miso had been to grab some tofu. _"Almost forgot."_

The pair made their way to the checkout.

"Why the sudden craving for miso?" Naruto asked.

"I've always liked miso."

"Fresh?" Naruto looked surprised.

"You know, most things that come out of a box or a bag are not healthy, Dobe." Sasuke sneered at him condescendingly.

"Eeeeh?" Naruto acted shocked. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not.

"Forty-five ryo." Sasuke handed the cashier a fifty note and stashed the change into his pocket, throwing his groceries into his shopping bag. The two ninja proceeded to leave. As they walked the streets back to the complex so that Sasuke could put his perishables away, Naruto grinned.

"I'm assuming it went well?"

Sasuke smirked. "Did you expect any less of me?" _"Or any more of Sakura?"_ It was easy to think about her and his plans for her objectively when she wasn't around.

Naruto's grin widened. "You guys were practically made for each other."

"Yeah?" Sasuke slid his door open and the loud ninja followed him in.

"Yeah. Look!" Naruto pointed to the sink.

"What?" Sasuke looked at him blankly over the door of the fridge.

"More dishes..." Naruto spoke softly, obviously surprised.

"Sakura has been running with me in the mornings."

"Wow." Naruto seemed taken aback. "That's intense."

"Not really." Sasuke straightened as he closed the door. "It's just a run, then breakfast." He shrugged.

"So... you guys are actually getting along?" Naruto's eyes were wide.

"Yeah. All in all its pretty... domestic." Sasuke admitted.

"Ah." Naruto said plainly. "Well, that's good. That's really good."

"Speaking of domestic, when are you and Hinata getting married?" Sasuke smirked, turning the tables on his friend.

"Soon, soon!" Naruto half-yelled.

"As in, as soon as Hiashi calms the fuck down and lets you see her again?" Sasuke prodded.

Naruto crossed his arms. "I could care less what the old bastard thinks!" Naruto stuck his nose in the air. "I don't want to rush things! We know we love each other, we can wait another year, easy!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "A year huh?"

Naruto nodded sadly.

"And let me guess, you have to court her formally now, Hyuuga style?"

Naruto's hands dropped to his sides and he nodded forlornly again.

"I didn't own hakama until last weekend!" He lamented.

Sasuke nodded knowingly. "In a small way, I'm glad no one is around to interfere with Sakura and my routine..." He trailed off. When he was sure Naruto wasn't looking, he glanced toward the walkway furtively.

"_Shit..."_ he thought nervously, then brushed off the prickly feeling as soon as it had set in. He knew there was no one there, but he couldn't help but wonder, even after all these months. Karin's words had stuck with him and occasionally the odd thought about... '_it' _would force itself to the forefront of his mind.

"Let's go."

Naruto nodded and headed for the door.

Sasuke cast one more look around the room before shutting the door.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXX

"_Must've been the ramen shelf at the store that did it."_ Sasuke thought to himself as the bowls began to pile up around his friend. Sasuke picked up the egg out of his own ramen and shoved it in his mouth. Naruto slurped, at the bottom of another bowl.

"One more, beef!" He grinned, smacking his lips and wiping his hands on his pants.

"Os!"

Naruto fidgeted happily on his stool. "I can't wait!"

"Yes you can. After five bowls, I'm sure you can wait for another." Sasuke shook his head. The display before him was almost disgusting. _Almost_.

Naruto turned to his friend. "Maa, Sasuke, do you seriously like Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke looked intensely at his noodles and slurped some up thoughtfully, contemplating how to answer this question. He decided to go with the truth.

"I do enjoy having her around."

"As in, 'I enjoy her company' or , 'I'm glad someone else is cooking and doing dishes for a change'?" Naruto inquired insightfully.

"We _do_ go running in the mornings."

"Yeah you said that. Running isn't very social. Especially not with you." Naruto had done plenty of that in their genin years.

"Yeah but I'd rather have her around than nobody at all!" Sasuke admitted heatedly.

Naruto grinned. That was about as close to a confession of love he was going to get.

Sasuke turned to his ramen and devoured it with a vengeance, attacking the innocent dish with his chopsticks.

Finally the two of them finished eating and they strolled slowly to the bar.

"Let's try a new place tonight." Sasuke tilted his head toward a billiard hall they were passing.

"I suck at pool."

"That's ok. I haven't played much myself."

Naruto frowned. "It's supposed to be my night out."

"No, it's my treat. Not _your_ night out. You sound like a girl." Sasuke chuckled briefly.

"Ok, ok, fine. Let's try it." They turned to the new place. _Eddy's_ or something.

Walking inside they noticed the crowd was starkly different from that of Yuuhi's. The place was crowded with older men, chuunin and jounin. No couples were visible, and the only women in the place seemed to be the scantily-clad waitresses. Instead of pop or radio hits, some kind of rock or metal was playing. The two friends saw a lot of people they recognized, Ibiki and Aoba for starters. Genma and Kakashi were engrossed in a game of pool in a dark, smoky corner in the back. Well, more like Kakashi was engrossed in his book and Genma was sweating and stressing over Kakashi having left him no shot at all. Obviously, everyone in the crowd fell under the category 'regulars' and more than a few heads turned as the young men made their way toward the expansive bar. But the heads turned back to their own business as soon as they saw who had entered their company. Seems like young jounin were as good as old chuunin in this place.

Naruto and Sasuke took their seats.

"What can I get you boys?" The old bartender smiled toothlessly at them. "Whiskey? Shots?"

Definitely a different crowd.

Naruto looked uncertainly at Sasuke.

"Uhh, I'll have a... shochu, do you have any?"

The bartender nodded. "Are you sure, son?"

Sasuke looked around behind the bar uncertainly. There were a lot of foreign liquors back there, half of them had labels in languages he didn't understand.

"What's that?" Naruto pointed to a large green bottle with an orange label.

"That?" the bartender motioned toward the same bottle with his towel.

"Yeah."

"That's an herbal liquor from Mist."

"Sounds healthy." Sasuke commented.

"More so than some." the bartender shook his head. "It's only 70 proof. Got a strong flavor though. Care for a try?"

"In a shot?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly.

This wasn't usually how they started their night.

But Sasuke was paying. Hell.

"Yeah, give us two."

The bartender grinned and grabbed the bottle. With a smooth flick of his wrist, he speed poured two shots and handed them to the boys. Sasuke picked his up and sniffed, then abruptly held his away from his face. He scrunched his nose.

"Smells like a pine tree."

"No," Naruto took a deep sniff. "Smells like cough drops. Actually, it smells like Shikamaru!" Naruto got excited.

Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was from another planet. "What are you doing that close to Shikamaru? No," Sasuke shook his head, "I don't want to know." He held his shot of dark liquor up to Naruto.

"Bottoms up."

They swigged the vile spirits and both boys pulled faces of disgust. Naruto literally looked as though he would turn inside out. Sasuke coughed a couple of times and he looked a little paler than usual.

Kakashi chose that moment to clap the teammates on the shoulders. "Care to play doubles with us?"

The boys turned to their Sensei, sour looks still gracing their features. Kakashi sniffed.

"Ahh, Jager." One could tell he was smiling under the mask. "I'll have one too."

The old barkeep was ready. He handed Kakashi the drink almost immediately. Kakashi pulled his mask down fairly quickly and tipped his head back, emptying the small glass. He made a show of greatly enjoying the drink, smacking his thin lips before pulling his mask back up over his face. Sasuke and Naruto were speechless, still plagued by the disgusting, bitter residue of the drink on their tongues yet shocked and happy at finally having seen Kakashi's face. Yes, the looks on their faces at that moment were memorable.

Sasuke broke their paralysis first. "Sure, we'll play. But not for money."

Kakashi nodded. "Sure, sure. You have played before?" Sasuke nodded but Naruto shook his head.

"If you can throw a shuriken or skip a stone, you can master the game." He imparted as they followed him across the establishment. He looked over his shoulder in Sasuke's direction. "No sharingan." He tapped his hitae-ate. Sasuke agreed silently.

As the night wore on they found this new place to be highly entertaining. Between the reasonably priced drinks and the familiar company of jounin and chuunin they both knew, Genma and Kakashi's perverted antics were proving to be the life of the party. Kakashi swigged Jack Daniel's straight from the bottle while Genma sipped on girly drinks the whole night, and Kakashi gave him shit for it every chance he got. This was obviously a well-worn routine between the two of them. Sasuke and Naruto took turns choosing shots and by three a.m. they were all thoroughly plastered. One of the coolest things about this place was that it was classified as a 'club' and if you paid the membership fee (a measly twenty ryo per _year_), it was legal to drink there all the time. As neither young jounin had missions the next day, they proceeded to drink the night away and Naruto spilled his guts about his Hyuuga woes to Kakashi and Genma drunkenly.

"And the worst part is I can only see her _once a week_ for a _year_!" he slurred. "You know what that's like for a guy with a sex drive like mine? That's all I wanna do." he gulped the vodka Sasuke had ordered down. "I just want to fuck." He slammed the shot glass down onto the table.

Kakashi raised a brow and chuckled. The pool game had long since been abandoned, Kakashi having soundly beaten them all at one point or another.

"Me too." Genma lifted his head from the table.

"Inorite?" Naruto agreed with the man.

Sasuke sighed, dangerously close to his limit.

Kakashi smiled good-naturedly. "The sun is coming up." He pointed at the stained glass windows near the ceiling of the bar.

"Nghhhh..." Genma groaned. Sasuke chuckled, then abruptly sat up and stared at the windows.

He stood too quickly and promptly grabbed onto Kakashi for support. "Whattimeisit?" he slurred hurriedly.

"6:10." Kakashi held his watch up for Sasuke to see.

"6:12." Sasuke corrected quietly. "Sakura is going to kill me." Genma really did pick up his head now.

"What?"

Sasuke frowned. _"Fucking alcohol. Now I slipped up. Great."_

"I'm supposed to be running with her. I was supposed to meet her at my house thirteen minutes ago."

Genma laughed, the sound echoing in the nearly empty building.

Naruto looked worried. "You are so fucked dude. She's going to knock you out. Or break something."

Kakashi sat quietly, contemplating this new piece of information.

"Sakura, huh?"

Sasuke looked away, suddenly uncomfortable with the way Kakashi was looking at him. "I need to get going." he mumbled, not excited to leave at all. He handed Naruto a roll of money. "This should cover it." He stumbled out of the bar without looking back, and took unsteadily to the rooftops, thoroughly feeling as though he'd been poisoned, on top of it being freezing outside. _"Fuck."_ he cursed as he ran to his house, losing his footing more than once.

Be it from drunkenness or fear, no one would ever know but him.

Finally he staggered up to his door. Not bothering to feel if anyone was inside, he dragged the door open, only to be greeted by a softly smiling Sakura. Oh, how soft she looked. The salty smell of miso and seaweed and onions hit him and he smiled, dopey. Sasuke plopped down on the floor and, with no small difficulty, pried off his shoes. He padded over to Sakura.

"Not running today?" She murmured.

He shook his head into the back of her neck, burying his nose in her tresses. Her hair smelled so good.

"You stink."

"Blame Naruto and Kakashi."

Sakura giggled.

"That tickles!"

He smiled a real smile where she would never see it, and dragged his hands heavily down the sides of her toned body. Sakura stirred the soup.

"Almost done." She spoke softly, considerate of his state.

"Mhhmmm." Sasuke hummed into her neck, hanging there, grasping her hips and gently pressing his own into her soft rump.

"Sasuke!" She slapped his hand lightly.

"Sorry." He whispered, not moving any further. On an impulse he kissed the place where her neck joined her shoulder and let her go, trailing his fingers across her butt as he walked away to sit at the table. He tilted the chair back and put his feet up on the table.

Sakura got on tiptoes as she got a couple bowls. Sasuke took his feet down. She poured them some soup and set it down on the table, and Sasuke proceeded to gulp it hungrily.

Sakura smiled at him.

"I told Kakashi." Sasuke imparted in between bites.

Sakura bit her lip worriedly. "What did he say? Did he seem pissed?" He was like a father to her in a lot of ways.

"No. More curious than anything."

"You shouldn't drink so much." she berated Sasuke.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"You'll give away all of our secrets." She added quickly.

Sasuke smirked.

"Never."

She laughed. "You don't want to end up like Ino! You should see that woman! She tells the whole bar about everyone she ever slept with every time she gets drunk!"

"Bullshit, there's not enough time for that in one night." He chuckled at his own joke.

Sakura glared. "She's not _that_ much of a… well, ok I guess she is but that's besides the point."

Sasuke tilted his bowl a little as he scooped out the last of his soup tiredly. Suddenly Sasuke felt very sleepy.

Sakura sighed. "I should be infuriated right now." she smiled sadly. "But you look so cute."

Sasuke grunted discontentedly at being called cute, but he was nearing the point of no return.

"Come on, let's put you to bed." Sakura stood and looped one of his arms over her shoulder. "You're going to regret this in the... afternoon." She whispered under her breath as she walked him to his room. Not that it mattered, Sasuke was barely conscious. She lay him on his bed and stared for a moment.

"_He'll get hot..." _she blushed. _"Come on, Sakura Haruno, you've seen much worse at the hospital. Let's just hope he's wearing boxers."_

Sakura knelt slowly on the bed beside Sasuke and sat him up. She pulled off his jounin vest and his shirt, and he helped a little by vaguely sending his arms in what must have felt like an 'up' position to him. He lay back down with a _plop_. Sakura braced herself and undid the drawstring on his pants. She slid them down carefully, rolling her eyes with relief at the sight of his dark blue boxers, thankfully buttoned up the front. She slid the pants the rest of the way down his legs without disturbing the boxers' position too much, and she definitely was careful not to look up his legs after pulling the pants off altogether. She folded the garments and placed them on his bedside table, then pulled his blanket lightly over him. Finally she tiptoed from the room, slowly sliding his bedroom door shut.

She made her way to the kitchen to clean up.

XxxxXXXXXXXxxxx

Ino looked at her friend over her salad with an open mouth.

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you, Sakura?" Ino asked with apparent disgust. "He comes home drunk and you think it's _cute_?"

"It's not like he was out with some other girl!" Sakura defended her boyfriend. "I knew he was out with Naruto." Sakura grinned. "By the way, have you seen Naruto? He looks like dog shit." She smirked.

"Stop smirking, you look like Sasuke. He does it all the time." Ino rolled her eyes and stuffed some salad in her mouth. "It's condescending." She spoke through the leaves.

"Yeah?" Sakura's face softened. "Sorry."

Ino waved her hand. "It's ok. It's just that when you smirk your eyebrows come together in the middle-" she pointed at Sakura's brow, "and your forehead looks even bigger than normal." the blonde's eyes glinted as smiled vengefully.

Sakura slapped her friend's hand away, laughing.

"So what are you guys' plans?" Ino spoke with her mouth full again.

"Shut your mouth, Pig!"

Ino covered her mouth. "Sorry."

"It doesn't make it better just because you're covering your mouth." Sakura narrowed her eyes disdainfully and stuck her tongue out. "And we don't have any plans. We just started dating a week ago."

"I give you guys three months."

"Shut the fuck up, Ino. You're just jealous." Sakura frowned at Ino's comment.

"No, no, don't misunderstand me." Ino shook her head. "Three months before you guys get married."

Sakura's mouth dropped open.

"Shut up."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I hate them, but here it is. You probably don't care to hear my excuse for not updating, but its a good one. I got sick (kidney stone) and didn't feel like sitting in pain. Lying down in pain is much better because then you can sleep. And this week is Oktoberfest in El Paso, where I am plagued by a severe lack of internet. So I will be updating again next week. Here is a long chapter to hold you over. Review, review, review. Thanks :D

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 6 : Explode or Implode_

Weeks flew by quickly, becoming months. Sakura of course proved her friend Ino wrong in her prediction. Granted, that was no difficult feat. Sakura and Sasuke continued in their domestic but peaceful routine, and they found themselves enjoying each other's company more and more. They would run in the morning before it got too hot, then they would share a small breakfast. Depending on Sasuke's mood their breakfast could be quiet, they might talk and Sakura might joke with him, or they might make out in the kitchen for awhile.

That was the best part of being at Sasuke's.

The more Sakura spent time with Sasuke, the more she reflected on Ino's careless comment. What would it even be like to be married? Bound forever, body and soul to Sasuke Uchiha? Doing his laundry, eating his cooking, working at the hospital and coming home late at night to the quiet house where Sasuke would be waiting for her at the kitchen table with a drink... it all sounded very romantic to her. He would sweep her off her feet and carry her to his bedroom, breath tainted slightly by the sour smell of shochu. He'd lay her down under him and light kisses would trail their way down her jaw to her collarbone...

More than once in the last few weeks Sakura had been caught at work daydreaming about this imaginary double life she led in her head with a passionate, quiet Sasuke; hot under more than just the collar. Not that anyone had to know about that but her.

She'd just smile and focus her attention on whatever it was on hand that demanded her assiduities.

On one of these dreamy days about halfway through the warm month of June, Sakura had a revelation. She had spent most of the month so far fretting over what to get Sasuke for his birthday. He was notably difficult to shop for (unless food was involved) and she knew he wouldn't appreciate an expensive gift, nor would he acknowledge some thoughtfully purchased trinket. But Sakura knew that he enjoyed spending time with her even if he would never admit it out loud.

She glanced up toward the clock from the papers she was pushing.

"_Damn it!"_ Inner Sakura pouted dramatically. _"3:35..."_ She still had over an hour before her shift would be over, then she could run to the store to enact the first part of her plan. After which she would spill the beans to Ino, of course.

XXXXXxxxXXXXXXX

Sakura walked out of the store and cast a wary glance around her, holding a rectangular, flat box under her arm. She darted into a nearby alley and, using her chakra, climbed up the sheer wall of one of the buildings. She peered carefully with narrowed eyes over the edge of the roof, a few shinobi were loitering here and there and a couple of ANBU ran across the rooftops toward the village gates. But no spiky haired Uchihas nor Uzumakis were visible on the quiet roofs. The pink-haired kunoichi launched herself onto the roof in front of her, turning a flip in the air and landing sturdily on the balls of her feet, steadying herself with her fingertips against the roll-roofing. Sakura took off running as fast as she could in a south-easterly direction, easily avoiding the various water-tanks and smoking chimneys that protruded seemingly randomly from the homes and businesses she carelessly leapt over.

Finally she arrived at her destination and as suddenly as she had jumped up onto that first roof she spiraled straight down and landed delicately on Ino's green balcony. She stood and relaxed, putting the majority of her weight on her right leg and lifting the corresponding hand to the lock on the door. She smirked. _"Really, Ino?"_ Sakura deftly maneuvered her chakra within the lock and in seconds had unlatched the sliding door. She let herself in past the heavy curtain and a startling sight greeted her. Her eyes went wide and her mouth flew open.

"PIG!" She yelled and stomped over to the light switch.

Shikamaru tugged the sheet up to cover his butt and he looked over his shoulder unhappily at Sakura.

"Do you mind?"

Ino propped herself up onto her elbows dazedly, face flushed and hair tousled, loosed from its ponytail.

"YOU KNEW I WAS COMING OVER AFTER WORK!" Sakura shouted at her friend.

"Ah..." Ino intoned softly, looking confused from under her heavy-lidded eyes.

"Women." Shikamaru shook his head turning away from Sakura.

"You guys have some nerve!" Sakura snapped and stormed out the door, slamming it in her annoyance, not bothering with the light.

"Mendokuse..." Shikamaru sighed, resuming his task.

Meanwhile, Sakura stood, red-faced in Ino's kitchen. She had put the box down on the counter and was trying to wipe the scene she had just witnessed from her innocent head by staring at said box with her hands on her hips. Her mouth turned down in a frown.

"What the _fuck._" She muttered darkly.

She stomped over to the fridge, tossing the door open violently.

The least Ino could do was feed her dinner after that display.

XXXxxxxxxXXXXXX

Ino sauntered into the room in a bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her hair about thirty minutes later. Sakura was just finishing her udon.

"Did you make me any?" Ino flopped down into the chair opposite Sakura and crossed her legs.

"Uhh, no." Sakura retorted snarkily at the blonde.

Ino sighed. "I'm tired!" she complained.

"Not my problem." Sakura stuffed the last bite of the thick noodles into her mouth.

"Aaa-aah!" Ino whined.

"Shaddup." Sakura commanded through the noodles.

A couple moments of silence went by. Ino stared at her knee. Sakura stared darkly at Ino's face.

"So what did you want?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about Sasuke."

"He finally asked you?" Ino's eyes lit up and she grabbed the edge of the table with both hands.

"No..." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh." Ino's face fell.

"I swear you're more excited about it than I am." Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Are you guys talking about this behind my back or something?"

"No." Ino replied quickly. "That's stupid. Sasuke won't even say 'Hi' to me. Do I look like his main source of advice?" She shook her head. "You have Kakashi to thank for that emotionless prick you call your boyfriend, but I _do_ talk to Kakashi." Ino winked.

"Moaning isn't talking." Sakura shot scathingly at her friend.

"Shut up!" Ino's face contorted in anger. "What is with you, bitch?"

"Wanna say that again?" Sakura stood and cracked her knuckles.

Ino stood as well, then grabbed her towel as it slipped from its twist. "I'll fuck you up any day!" she shouted back uncertainly.

The two girls stared each other down, one could almost see the sparks flying from their eyes. Finally they both sat down and sighed.

"We're crazy." Ino scratched at something invisible that was stuck to her table.

"Hah." Sakura agreed.

Another moment passed.

"Hey." Sakura stared at the ceiling.

"Uh?" Ino picked at her towel.

"Have you ever seen Sasuke at the club?"

Ino looked over at her friend dubiously. "Uh, what club? Are you talking about the jounin club?"

Sakura sighed and dragged her hand over her face. "Ugh, I'm probably making a huge mistake."

"Wait, _that_ club?" Ino's eyes widened.

Sakura nodded, eyes closed.

"Sakura, what are you planning?"

XxxxxXXXXxxxXXX

Sakura picked up the pace as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop toward Sasuke's house, late. In her right hand she clutched the bag that held Sasuke's boxed present. She threw her body over the wall that separated the Uchiha complex and glanced below her.

She opened her mouth and her eyes widened slightly. She saw three young men walking along the wall within the complex. Two with different shades of brown hair, and one with silver hair like Kakashi's. They all wore jounin vests, but on the back instead of the symbol of the fire country... she snapped her mouth shut as she was almost to Sasuke's house and since they didn't look at her she guessed it must not be that important. But it was very weird for someone other than Sasuke to be displaying the Uchiha emblem on their uniform. She landed in front of Sasuke's house and threw his door open breathlessly.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed and threw the package to the table from where she stood. Sasuke stared at it.

Sakura smiled at him and his face softened a tiny bit as he turned his head to face her. She still stood in the genkan, at the ready in her shoes.

"Let's go!"

Sasuke nodded and followed her out the door. Today they both seemed tired. Sasuke kept the pace at a fast jog.

A pace that she could talk at.

As they neared the wall, Sakura was reminded of the jounin she had glimpsed in her hurry to get to Sasuke's house.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn." Sasuke acted busy breathing.

"Did you know" _pant_ "there were some jounin" _pant_ "walking along the wall" _pant_ "inside the complex this morning?"

Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What were they doing?" Sasuke didn't miss a breath.

"I didn't see." _pant_ "I was late."

He nodded.

"They-" However tired he had seemed before, Sasuke picked up the pace, making it impossible to talk.

Sakura frowned slightly and increased her own pace, keeping up with the shirtless young man.

They ran their two laps around the complex briskly, never encountering the jounin although at this pace they should have overtaken the three men. Sakura was thoroughly confused now. As they turned down the street back to the house, Sakura contemplated ways to get Sasuke to tell her about the jounin. He obviously knew something about it since he reacted the way he did to the information.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was making a strict effort to keep his mind blank and focus on his breathing. All the same, annoying thoughts kept popping up in his head.

"_Does the Hokage still have people watching me after all this time?"_

"_What the hell are people doing in MY house?"_

"_What if..."_

Sasuke fought the urge to shake his head physically as an image of Karin kneeling on the ground before him, choking, flashed before his eyes.

"_That's impossible, and I'm not going to accept that as a possibility."_

Even now, Sasuke denied the poor girl her affirmation.

The couple slowed as they got to the house and Sasuke let himself in first, Sakura following in his wake.

She slowly peeled her sandals off and made her way to the fridge, her mood having drastically changed from the happy feelings she had harbored when she arrived that morning. But that's how their relationship was, Sakura and Sasuke fed off of each other desperately, hardly even realizing it.

She threw the cold rice into a pan and as she waited for the iron skillet to heat up, Sakura hauled herself up onto the counter, eggs in hand.

"Sasuke." She turned her upper body to face him.

"What?" He murmured, filling their glasses with water.

"Those jounin..."

"The Hokage probably sent them to watch me." He cut her off.

"I don't think so." Sakura ventured softly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, handing her the glass of cooling liquid. "Their vests..." She bit her lip, now unsure of herself. Sakura suddenly realized how stupid what she was thinking of saying sounded.

"What about them?" Sasuke feigned disinterest but Sakura could tell by the way he leaned slightly toward her that he wanted to know.

"Well... promise not to get mad." Sakura muttered, swirling her water around with a small movement of her wrist.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted noncommittally. "How can I?"

Sakura sighed. She gulped the rest of her drink and hopped down to the floor. Sakura grabbed a bottle of oil and poured a little onto the skillet, spreading it about with the spatula she extracted from the drawer near the stove.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed, waiting. His gaze burned into her back.

The eggs sizzled in the tense silence as she cracked them over the skillet, and now she had to turn around to throw the shells away. As soon as she turned, Sasuke closed the distance in between them. She stood stock-still, sticky hands gripping the delicate eggshells lightly.

"I won't be mad at you, you know that." His eyes softened as he looked into her mildly surprised sea-green ones.

She shook her head slightly, pink strands bobbing. "No, I don't know that."

"Tch." Sasuke kissed her forehead. "You can't control what you saw."

"What if I was wrong?" Sakura retorted too quickly.

Sasuke's insides shook slightly and he felt cold. _"Oh Kami, she did see something..."_

"The eggs are burning." Sakura hung her head. Sasuke abruptly stepped around her to the stove to flip them and, free now, Sakura strode to the trash and then to the sink, rinsing the sticky whites from her fingertips. She turned the water off and watched as the last remnants spun into the drain.

Sasuke turned the stove off and smoothly served two plates heaping with rice and eggs as Sakura simply stared at the sink. He stood next to the table looking at her back.

"Food." He declared softly. She broke out of her trance and mechanically went to her chair. Sakura shoveled the food into her mouth mercilessly.

"Please tell me." Sasuke's eyes were pleading, if only a little.

She nodded. _"Spit it out."_ Inner Sakura spurred her on.

"They had Uchiha crests on their vests." She blurted, dropping her fork onto her plate with a clatter. She wrung her hands in her lap.

Sasuke stared at his girlfriend with wide eyes. _"Oh, God..."_

She looked up at him worriedly. "Please don't be upset."

"I'm not. I just can't explain..." he shook his head. "Maybe it was a trap?" he suggested hopefully.

"What kind of trap?" Sakura confronted him. "A genjutsu trap? I didn't feel any irregularities in my chakra flow, and I would still be under the influence if it was a trap." She paused, giving Sasuke a chance to answer. When he didn't, she continued. "What kind of genjutsu shows the target images of people walking away from them with their backs turned?" Her brow creased in confusion. "None of this makes any sense."

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "You're right. It doesn't. And there's no rational explanation, so we should ignore it."

"What do you mean _ignore it_?" Sakura was getting frustrated. "You said it yourself, I know what I saw!"

She sounded a lot like Karin right now, Sasuke realized.

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond and at that moment there was a loud knock at the door. Both shinobi jumped uncharacteristically, startled by the sound. They looked at each other. Sakura looked scared. Sasuke _felt_ scared. They sat like that for a few seconds. The banging resumed, this time louder and more prolonged.

"I'll get it." Sasuke whispered hoarsely. The hair on the back of Sakura's neck stood up. As Sasuke shoved his chair back with a loud scrape, Sakura winced and Sasuke half-ran to the door. He stood there in the genkan for a couple of seconds, and whisked the door open.

Naruto stumbled back into Hinata. Sasuke's breath came in hard gasps, adrenaline pumping through every part of his body.

"What the hell, Teme?"

"_I don't believe it..." _Sasuke leaned his head against his hand, resting on the door frame.

"Naruto..." he breathed shakily. Naruto looked past him into the dining room at an anxious Sakura. Hinata peeked around her fiance.

"What were you guys doing?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Eating breakfast." Sakura stated with a squeak.

"Uh-huh. Gross. Anyway," Naruto brushed by Sasuke and pried his shoes off "Hinata and I have run away for the day and we need a place to hang out. I figure no one will find us here." Naruto grinned.

Hinata still stood outside, hands clasped together, staring and the shaking, shirtless Sasuke.

"Sa-Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke collected himself and slowly walked back to his chair and sat down heavily, casting a meaningful glance at Sakura.

Immediately, Sakura began to take deep, metered breaths to calm herself down. No point in making others suspicious. But it was too late.

Hinata bowed as she came in and hesitantly, clumsily removed her shoes. She padded up to Naruto.

"S-sorry to intrude." She apologized and bowed ever-so-slightly.

Naruto stared intently at the back of Sakura's head. "You guys look pretty shook up. You look like you saw a ghost!" Naruto laughed. "Chill out."

Sakura felt lucky at that moment to have her back turned to the blonde man. Taking advantage of the situation, she looked Sasuke full in the face, eyes like saucers. She started to breathe quickly again. Sasuke, looking at Naruto, gave her a tiny shake of his head that said _"We'll talk about this later."_ She nodded slightly in response.

Naruto's smile vanished. Hinata looked back and forth uneasily between the two boys.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto asked in a serious voice.

Sasuke sighed. "Nothing that concerns you."

"Is it about Itachi?"

"Kami, don't you know what tact is, Naruto?" he chided. "Shut up if you have nothing to say." the Uchiha looked at Naruto darkly.

Naruto smiled a little.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto threw his arm around Hinata, hugging her closely to his side. "It's cool, I don't care about your problems anyway!" Naruto exclaimed, breaking into another grin. "Do you guys have any more food?"

Soon, everyone was sitting around the table laughing and talking, and even Hinata joined in the fun. Just as Sakura and Sasuke played off of each other's feelings and thoughts, it was nearly impossible for them to be upset, sad or worried with Naruto around. He just had that effect on people. His happiness and carefree attitude was infectious, and Sakura and Sasuke couldn't help but put their previous conversation on the back burner, so to speak.

"So then I used my Harem-no-jutsu on Hiashi and the old man passed out! Neji was furious! I think he's gay though because it had _no_ effect on him!" Naruto laughed out loud. "He's the first to survive my ultimate jutsu!" Hinata was blushing furiously.

"Naruto, that's gross!" Sakura yelled at him across the table. "That jutsu is disgusting!"

"You're just jealous 'coz your boobies aren't as nice as mine!" Naruto retorted, pointing a floppy forkful of egg at her. Yolk dripped onto the table.

"Keep your egg off of my table!" Sakura admonished. She abruptly covered her mouth and everyone looked at Sasuke.

"Hn." He turned his head to look at her. "_Our_ table."

Naruto burst out laughing after a second and Hinata fanned herself. "You guys are s-so c-cute." Hinata commented softly, a gentle smile gracing her face. Sakura blushed faintly.

"No we're not." Sakura contradicted huffily.

"Yeah, you kinda are, in an emo way." Naruto spoke through a mouthful of rice and egg and shoved Sasuke, who sat there like a rock, with nothing to say.

Naruto scraped his fork against the plate loudly, scooping up every last bit of rice and egg with the edge of the utensil. Hinata continued to nibble daintily on the small portion she had served herself.

"Hey, Sakura-chan,"

"Close your mouth when you're eating! God, I'm surprised you didn't end up with Ino you piglet!"

Naruto swallowed his half-chewed food loudly. "Are you gonna give Sasuke his present or what?"

"Oh yeah..." Sakura mumbled, standing to get it. On tiptoes, she batted at it with a hand and when enough of it was sticking out, she hopped and pulled her bag down from the fridge. Sakura turned and smiled at Sasuke.

"Ha-ppy birth-day tooo you..." She began, smiling brightly. Sasuke's eyes were like saucers and his mouth was pulled in a grimace to one side of his face, nose scrunched. Naruto joined in loudly and Hinata's soprano rang through the kitchen. Everyone clapped as Sakura handed Sasuke the navy blue -wrapped box from within the bag. He accepted it gingerly and three pairs of eyes watched in excited anticipation of Sasuke's reaction to the gift. Naruto and Hinata were of course very curious as to what the box contained. Sasuke unwrapped it like the neat freak he was and carefully slid the box from the paper after he had opened one end. He set the box down in his lap and took the lid off and let the breath he didn't know he had been holding out.

"Uh, cool." He pulled the dark embroidered jeans out of the box. _"Actually, they're very cool."_ Sasuke threw Sakura a pleased look.

"Dude, those are Diesels!" Naruto stood and leaned toward the jeans that Sasuke still held up. Both boys examined them carefully.

"Yeah, they are." Sasuke said simply. "They're really nice. Thanks, Sakura."

"Oh yeah, Teme, here's your present." Naruto threw it at him carelessly and Sasuke had to drop the jeans to catch it.

"Thanks."

"Open it, damn you!" Naruto yelled.

"I just got it, hold on!" Sasuke retorted.

Naruto stuck his tongue out. "Meh!"

Sasuke didn't bother with unwrapping this present carefully, as it was wrapped with a paper grocery sack. Badly wrapped.

"You should have asked Hinata for help." Sakura looked at the blonde. "You're incorrigible."

Hinata stuttered. "I-I tried to help him, b-but he said he wan-wanted to wr-wrap it b-by himself." She poked her fingertips together nervously.

Sakura laughed. "See? Hopeless." She shook her head. Hinata nodded enthusiastically.

Sasuke finally got all of the tape that was under the paper off of the box. He cast Naruto an annoyed glance.

"It was an old box!"

"You could have found a nicer one. I hope whatever's inside isn't something you found on the street. Or in a dumpster."

"Shut up Teme, I know you'll like this!"

"Hn." Sasuke opened the flap on the old box and it tore a little. Sasuke stared inside the box. Finally he reached in and pulled out the tiny scroll.

"I've been saving up awhile for this."

"I'm scared." Sasuke frowned.

"Everybody stand back!" Naruto yelled as he stood and pulled Sasuke to his feet as well. They stood in the middle of the kitchen.

"I don't want to open it here."

"It shouldn't explode." Naruto grinned.

"Don't open it in here!" Hinata exclaimed as Sakura blanched, taking a step back. Suddenly she felt like her twelve-year-old self, standing as far away from Sasuke as possible with her hands clenched to her chest.

"Listen to Hinata!" She called to Sasuke. He took one look at her and nodded, turning on his heel and heading outside. Naruto, Hinata and Sakura ran to follow him. Finally they all stood in the courtyard, Sasuke fingering the seal on the scroll uncertainly.

"Tch. Stand back." The girls leapt back to the walkway where it was relatively safe and Naruto just stood by Sasuke like a dolt. Sasuke ripped the scroll open and threw it on the ground, jumping to the roof for safety. Naruto smiled.

"Told you it wouldn't explode!" He threw Sasuke a thumbs-up.

Everyone looked at the scroll in shock, even Hinata.

Sasuke huffed at Naruto. "You said it _shouldn't_ explode..."

All kinds of stuff was piled in the courtyard on top of the scroll, various kunai, a fine sharpening stone, several shuriken and rolls of thin, sharp wire. But what caught everyone's attention was the massive pile of fireworks that sat in the middle of the mess. It wasn't comforting that a pile of exploding tags rested right next to them.

"Who packs exploding tags in the same scroll as fireworks?" Sakura railed. "You're just _stupid..._" She hit her forehead with her palm.

Sasuke jumped down from the roof and grabbed the tags, flipping through them. "It's safe." He called to the girls who approached cautiously.

"Wow, Naruto-kun, I didn't know you had gotten this much stuff together." Hinata managed a sentence without stuttering.

"Yeah, I've been putting it together for awhile." Naruto threw his hand behind his head.

"This is a really cool gift Naruto." Sasuke shook Naruto's hand as the blonde clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, bud." Naruto practically beamed.

"So we're gonna do these fireworks tonight right?"

Everyone smiled.

Sakura jumped suddenly. "Oh damn, you guys I have to go to work!" She turned to go. "I'll be back around 4:30, OK?" Sasuke and Hinata nodded. Naruto was busy being pleased with himself. Sakura jogged along the walkway. At the kitchen, she turned.

"Oh, Sasuke, do you want anything special for dinner?" She leaned seductively against the door frame. At least, she looked seductive to Sasuke.

He smirked. "Onigiri." He said simply. She nodded and turned to go. "And get some tomatoes!" He called after her. He heard her beautiful, tinkling laugh of acknowledgment as she ran out the front door.

XxxxXXXXxxxxXXX

Another long day at work.

Sakura sighed.

Peacetime was so boring.

She looked over at Ino who was working today too. Ino sat flipping listlessly through some charts.

"Hey, Pig."

She looked up. "Yeah?" she responded irritably.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"More like who. I can't wait to see Shikamaru again." She sighed, throwing the charts down onto the desk.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? The same guy more than once?"

Ino frowned, pissed. "Is that so hard to believe? God the whole village thinks I'm a slut!"

"After you sleep with someone fourteen years your senior, yeah, the word kind of gets around." Sakura frowned too.

"It was one time!" Ino exclaimed. "And we were both drunk!" she flung a hand into her hair. "I didn't think he'd actually remember!"

"He probably used his sharingan."

"Real original, like I haven't heard that before." Ino rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Anyway, seriously, I really am going to be busy tonight."

"That sucks for you then, because Naruto bought Sasuke a bunch of fireworks for his birthday and we're going to set them off tonight. Hinata's gonna be there too. They ran away from Hiashi for the day." Sakura smiled excitedly, rattling off their plans to her friend.

Ino really looked jealous now. "Aw, man, that sounds really fun." She pouted. "But I really have to go on this date. I promised."

"Bring Shikamaru!" Sakura prodded. "He'll be welcome too!"

"Nah." Ino sighed, shaking her head. "We've got plans."

Sakura's face fell. "OK, Ino. Well, enjoy your date then."

"Yeah." Ino replied half-heartedly.

The clock ticked away, disrupting the utter silence in the nurse's area.

Sakura glanced up at it. _"Fifteen more minutes."_

"Hey Sakura."

"Un?"

"Did you talk to Sasuke about it?"

"No."

Ino smirked at Sakura, throwing down the charts again. "I knew it!"

"Knew what, Pig?" Sakura huffed.

"He'll never go. You don't have the guts to ask him either." Ino smiled knowingly.

"No! I'm just waiting for the right moment!" Sakura glanced at the clock again. "I'm leaving early! Tsunade can stuff it!" Sakura tossed her own paperwork onto the desk and tore her nurse's hat off, stalking away from her blonde friend.

"Hmph." Ino narrowed her eyes and picked her papers back up.

XxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Sakura flew out of the hospital in a full sprint. She ran all the way to the store and zoomed through the aisles, grabbing the seaweed sheets and the biggest, shiniest tomatoes in the store. She got to the seafood counter for the bonito and was surprised to see her ex-sensei standing there with a basket in one hand and a number in the other.

"Hello, Kakashi."

She reached around him and grabbed a number, then pushed the call button.

"Ah." Kakashi acknowledged her.

The fishmonger came out from the back. "Can I help you?"

"So that's why it took so long..." Kakashi muttered. Sakura rolled her eyes at Kakashi's lack of common sense.

"Bonito, please."

"Yes sir! You're in luck, we've only got two left!"

Sakura stared in horror.

"Kakashi, wait!" She put her hand on his shoulder. She put on her best puppy face. "It's Sasuke's birthday and he wants me to make bonito onigiri for him..." She widened her eyes and pouted slightly.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, I need to eat too. And I want bonito." He gestured toward his basket. He was apparently going to make it with eggplant and miso.

"Pleeeease..." Sakura begged, lower lip trembling.

"Tch." He sucked his teeth. "Fine." He looked at her severely. "But in return, I need to talk to you about something..."

Sakura nodded vigorously. "Sure." She turned and pointed commandingly. "I'll take both of them!" The fishmonger just shook his head as he wrapped the fish.

"Walk and talk." she said to Kakashi. He frowned under his mask. _"Geez."_

"Watch out for Sasuke." He slouched alongside his old student.

"What do you mean?" She peered at him from the corner of her eye.

"He's a good kid, but make sure you know what his reasons for being with you are." He spoke vaguely.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kakashi sighed as they reached the line at the front of the store. Of course, there was only one register open. Sakura fidgeted anxiously but Kakashi was glad.

"Does he love you?"

Sakura's mouth fell open. "Of course he does!" she stepped forward a little.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi pressed.

"He smiles all the time around me! And he does other stuff that he doesn't do around other people!"

Kakashi looked a little taken aback.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Well, ok, Sakura, your call. I'm just warning you, if he does anything _weird_ or changes suddenly you let me know." Kakashi started to put his stuff on the conveyor belt.

"Sure. Definitely." Sakura nodded.

"I mean it, Sakura. Don't let him take advantage of you." Kakashi looked at her warningly from under his hitae-ate. His eye was steely with his sincerity.

Sakura was startled by his sudden severity. "Why are you so serious?"

"Sasuke has a lot going on. ANBU, his house to take care of, you to take care of and keep an eye on, his brother," Sakura blanched at the mention of Itachi, "that's right, and don't you forget it." Kakashi shook his head as Sakura mechanically placed her few items on the conveyor. "Don't think for a minute that because he shows you favor that he will choose you over his revenge if it comes down to it. You need to be calculating about this."

Sakura couldn't believe that the all-time romantic was telling her to be calculating about her relationship. "Where do you get off telling me this?" Sakura was starting to get agitated.

"You know he talks to me." Sakura got quiet fast.

"I won't betray his confidence in me, but I repeat-" Kakashi looked straight at her, handing the cashier a hundred note, "be on guard around that boy." Kakashi took his change.

"I'll see you later." Kakashi waved and turned away from her as the cashier began to ring up her items.

He never smiled at her as he walked away.

XXXXXXxxxxxXXXX

Sakura walked home quickly after she paid for the few groceries she had needed for dinner. She wanted to disregard Kakashi's words so badly, but she had never, never fared well when doing that in the past. Then again, he had never contributed to any of her past relationships... well she didn't have any past relationships in which she could have used advice. Since Sasuke was her first boyfriend. She could see the gates now and she sped up slightly. It was easy to be doubtful now that Sasuke wasn't around. But once she saw him... Then there was this morning. The memory flooded her head now. Sasuke, uneasy. Sasuke, hiding something from her.

Dishonest.

She narrowed her eyes as she walked into the complex. She looked around briefly, and, seeing no one, she continued on quickly, exhaling with relief.

"_Ghosts. Naruto is out of his mind."_ She thought as she skipped up to the door, sliding it open.

"Tadaima!" She yelled.

"Okairi!" Sasuke spoke up from the courtyard. She peeked out the door, Sasuke and Naruto were sparring in the courtyard, practicing their taijutsu. Of course it was just taijutsu, she mused, otherwise there wouldn't be a courtyard to spar in. Sakura smiled. "I'm gonna start cooking!" Hinata turned to face the pinkette from where she sat reading. "I'll help you, Sakura."

"Un."

The girls busied themselves with the picnic-style dinner and by the time they had finished it was already dark. Hinata was surprisingly easy to talk to and smart, Sakura noted, and she could feel the beginnings of a wonderful friendship forming between them.

The girls carried the dinner out and three of them sat on the walk while Naruto attached fire tags to the fuses on the fireworks, mounting them to the launchers. He really had thought of everything. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata just watched quietly. The blonde was obviously enjoying the hell out of himself. Who would have known that Naruto had a pyro streak?

Finally Naruto sat down next to Hinata to enjoy dinner with his friends. They all watched as Naruto stuffed his face and formed the necessary hand seal to ignite the different tags.

"Katsu!" Naruto spoke through a mouthful of rice and the first rocket flew into the sky with a whistle, leaving a trail of sparkles in its wake and exploding with a satisfying _BOOM_ that shook the village. Naruto smiled at Sasuke.

"Happy birthday, Teme."

Sasuke smiled back. "Thanks, Dobe."

There were enough fireworks to last for another few minutes after everyone finished eating. Sakura leaned into Sasuke and he obliged her by placing his arm around her shoulders. They both watched the pyrotechnics in quiet awe and happiness. After the last firework went off, Naruto and Hinata stood, holding hands.

"I gotta take this one back home." Naruto smiled lopsidedly. Hinata looked worried.

Sasuke and Sakura looked over to their friends. "Ok. Goodnight guys." Sakura yawned. "Night." Sasuke said.

Naruto waved and the pair walked away. Sasuke and Sakura vaguely heard the front door slide closed.

Sakura's eyes drooped closed and she jerked herself awake.

"Mm." she hummed sleepily.

"You going home?" Sasuke murmured.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sakura sighed against his chest. Sasuke smiled lovingly at her face. She'd never see it, not now that her eyes were closed, probably for good tonight he reasoned.

"Why don't you spend the night?"

"In your room?"

"Itachi's is dirty."

She nodded. "I don't want to go in there either."

They had agreed on a plan of action but neither moved to enact it.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Let's go dancing on Friday." She muttered sleepily. "That's why I bought you those cool jeans."

Sasuke stiffened. "I've never been dancing." He spoke the last word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"For me." Sakura snuggled deeper into his side.

Sasuke sighed.

"For you." He agreed. _"But that doesn't mean I have to dance..."_ He thought wickedly.

"Ok, let's get up!" But Sakura was already asleep. He shook his head slightly. Carefully he slid an arm under her legs and picked her up. She hung limply from his arms, exhausted.

It was nice living in a house with sliding doors.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Uhh, yeah, I hate these, did I mention that? But there's um, lime/citrus whatever content in this chapter. It just happened, I don't know how. So if you're not of legal age in your country, scram. Otherwise, enjoy. Review. Thank you all :)

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 7 : Everything Has Changed_

Sakura woke up alone in the large bed, arms and legs sprawled across the mattress. She picked up her head sleepily. Light seeped softly through the paper door. She lay like that for awhile, then smelled food.

Food sounded good right now.

She pulled herself from the blankets, still in her clothes, sweaty. At least she was barefoot, she noted.

"_Thanks, Sasuke."_

She hopped the short distance from the bed to the floor and made her way slowly out of the room and down the walk toward the source of the food-like scent. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen rubbing her face with her hands.

Sasuke looked at her standing there looking like a hot mess. He smiled softly at her. She finished rubbing her eyes and smiled back at him, then sat at the table, turning her chair so she could watch him while tucking her leg underneath her on the seat.

"Watchya cookin'?" She yawned. "Smells interesting."

"Omelettes."

"Oh cool."

The muted sounds of Sasuke gently flipping the eggs and the sizzle of the skillet were the only ones in the sunbathed kitchen for awhile. Finally the tinkling of plates moving against each other and silverware joining them was heard. Sasuke set the table while Sakura watched sleepily and he brought both omelettes over, balancing them on the spatula.

He sat down to eat.

"Itadakimasu." Sakura murmured, slicing into her food with her fork. "Thanks for letting me stay. Sorry I hogged the covers."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked, stuffing some egg into his mouth and slightly making a face.

Sakura noticed and stopped the fork halfway to her mouth. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head, swallowing. "Nothing."

Sakura sniffed her food. Smelled alright. She took a bite.

"Ooh, too much pepper! Gross!"

Sasuke frowned as he poked at the delicious-looking omelette. It was a pity it would end up in the trash.

He looked up at her.

"Want to grab something else?"

Sakura nodded in agreement, standing up with her plate and holding out her hand for Sasuke's, which he gaveher gladly. She scraped the failed breakfast into the trash and dumped the plates into the sink.

She turned and realized she didn't know where her shoes were.

"Shoes?" she said quietly, pointedly, to Sasuke.

He looked to the genkan.

"Ah."

"Lemme grab a shirt."

"'Kay."

She sat and pulled her shoes on and as she finished, Sasuke came back in his long-sleeved jounin shirt and his cargo pants.

"Can we stop by my house real quick?"

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

They flew out the door and took to the rooftops. Sakura couldn't help but enjoy the view of the village from up here. It looked so serene and calm, especially in the morning when she and Sasuke were about the only ones up there. But she couldn't help but look down to the place where she had seen the jounin. Of course, there was no one there. If Sasuke noticed her looking, he didn't let on. They arrived shortly at her house, and Sasuke stood in her living room while she changed upstairs and brushed her hair. She appeared downstairs again quickly, and they took off together across town to the Bird Country-style pancake place, without ever exchanging so much as a word.

The young brunette waitress greeted them with a wide smile and handed them their cellophane menus, speaking with her strange, foreign accent.

"Welcome to the Pancake Cafe, Mary Ann will be your waitress today, will y'all be wantin' a booth or a table?" She cocked her head.

"Booth." Sakura smiled back.

The waitress nodded, her updo bobbing with each movement of her head and the couple followed her to their seats.

Sasuke and Sakura sat down tiredly, eyes scouring the menus in their hunger.

"Screw it! I'm getting the pancakes." Sakura tossed her menu down. A slight smile graced Sasuke's fine features. "You know what you want?"

He nodded.

The waitress popped over. "Hi, y'all." She was blonde and short, and a little thick around the middle but overall she seemed to be in good humour, although she didn't flash the couple a hundred-watt smile like the hostess had.

"I just want pancakes. Two orders." Sakura specified.

"Butter?"

"Yes."

The waitress's gaze shifted to Sasuke. "And you, hon?"

"Waffle. This one." He pointed to the belgian waffle.

"With the toppings?"

He nodded.

Sakura stared, speechless. "Sweets?" She whispered.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "Hn." he grunted quietly.

"I'll be back in a few." She turned and walked briskly to the kitchen. They could hear her yell their orders from their table.

Sakura smiled brightly. "I'm so excited about Friday! We're gonna have a blast!"

Sasuke nodded unhappily.

"Don't make those faces! You'll love it!" Sakura continued to smile warmly at him. "Trust me!"

He sighed. "I don't even know how to dance."

"Really?" Sakura's face fell just a little. "Well, I'll teach you!"

"Ok."

Sasuke obviously didn't want to talk about dancing. _"Let's see..."_ Sakura tried to think of something interesting to say.

"Oh, I ran into Kakashi on your birthday!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What did he have to say?"

"_Yes!"_ She had caught his interest. Then she remembered what they had talked about.

"Nothing much." She lied. "Just fish. He almost bought our bonito." There was just enough truth in her lie that she hoped it would go undetected.

"What else?"

"_Ahh, shit."_ Sakura maintained her smile. "You."

Sasuke nodded darkly. "Figures."

Sakura was taken aback. "What do you mean?" Apparently Sasuke had disclosed some secret to their jounin ex-teacher. And he didn't even fully trust him.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing."

"Don't lie." Sakura said quietly. "I- I don't like it when you lie like that."

Sasuke frowned. "Fine. What do you want me to say?"

"It's not about that. What are you hiding?"

Their pancakes arrived in the midst of the awkward moment. The waitress opened her mouth, then thought better of whatever she was going to say at the dark looks the couple threw her.

Sasuke's head hung down a bit after the waitress left. "Nothing major. It's not like there's another girl or something." He met her gaze.

"I know that." Sakura's face softened. "But we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. How can we expect to have a good relationship with each other if we are lying to each other-" Sasuke opened his mouth to speak. "Shh..." Sakura chided gently. "Let me finish" She reached forward and grasped his clasped hands in her own, pulling them towards her and away from his face. "If you don't tell me about important things, that counts as lying."

Slowly, Sasuke nodded.

"But I still don't want to talk about it. Sakura, please just trust me, it's not a big deal."

Sakura looked him steadily in the eyes. Slowly she let his hands go and she began to eat her pancakes, which she soaked with syrup first. Sasuke ate his waffle just as lethargically.

After a few minutes, Sakura broached the subject again.

"It has to do with those jounin, doesn't it?" She took a guess, and hit the bullseye on the first try. She saw it in Sasuke's slight hesitation on the next bite.

He didn't answer but instead continued eating his strawberry-covered waffle.

"You may not want to tell me, but I will figure it out, trust me Sasuke. And just so you know, Kakashi won't break your trust because he refused to explain his cryptic random comments to me."

Sasuke acted like he was ignoring her, which was infuriating in and of itself, but Sakura knew better. She knew he was listening.

"I will figure this out." She dropped the topic.

"_Not before it's too late, though."_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Finally he could enjoy the latter half of his waffle in peace.

XXXXxxxXXXXxxxX

The next two days flew by in a flash, and before Sasuke knew it he stood outside Sakura's house in his new jeans and one of Naruto's button-up shirts, a light blue one with slightly darker vertical stripes. He wore a wife-beater underneath and he had had to go buy his shoes, black dress shoes, in the most modern style. Sasuke felt naked without his forehead protector. His hair kept falling in his face. He scowled. _"When will she finish her primping?"_ he sighed outwardly. "Geez." he muttered.

Finally Sakura came out and teetered down the stairs. Sasuke fought to keep his mouth from opening. She looked stunning. Her hair was piled on her head in a loose bun, an stray strands of pink framed her face delicately. In the way of makeup, she had only applied a slight amount of tinted lip gloss, but her clothes played up her assets exquisitely. She wore a tight, low cut burgundy microfiber shirt under a fitted black leather jacket that just reached her midriff. Her black skinny jeans hugged her tight butt and muscular thighs closely and just reached her ankles, allowing her strappy high-heels to stand out against her pale feet along with her dark red toes. She handed him her ID and some cash.

"Take care of this for me. I hate taking a purse with me."

He simply nodded, mesmerized. She held out her hand for him to hold and he gripped it for dear life, entwining his fingers in hers. If she wasn't holding his hand, he'd be following her like a lost puppy he thought vaguely.

"_Good thing she's short to begin with."_ Sasuke looked over at her. In those heels, she stood almost eye-to-eye with him. He felt severely under-dressed next to her, even with his four hundred dollar jeans on. She strode confidently down the street with a hypnotizing smile on her face and Sasuke had to stand tall next to her to try to look like he belonged. They got to the club and Sakura smiled at the bouncer. But the man held his hand up about an inch from Sasuke's chest.

Ibiki.

"Pay up, punk." He frowned.

Sasuke fished in his pocket for his wallet. He shoved a twenty into Ibiki's hand without taking a second look at the jounin and Sakura pulled him into the club.

It was the moment of truth.

Lights flashed on the dance floor and around the edges the club was dark except for the backlit bar. This place looked expensive. He caught sight of Ino through the multicolored flashing lights in a silver plunge neckline shirt and blue jeans styled similarly to Sakura's, wearing silver stilettos. She was rubbing her gyrating hips and spinning, next thing he knew she was sinking lower and lower on the dance floor, thrusting her hips to the beat.

"Sasuke! _Sasuke!_" Sakura was yelling at him over the loud music. He turned to her, suddenly embarrassed. She definitely had caught him out of his element. In fact, Sasuke was completely lost now. Sakura looked kind of pissed, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I've never been here." He tried to explain. Sakura shook her head slightly.

"She's a slut." She yelled.

"Yeah." Sasuke agreed. Sakura pulled him toward the bar through the crowd of people. He sat down next to Chouji, who had on some kind of heavy jacket and brown boots.

"Hey." Sasuke raised a hand to him in greeting.

Chouji nodded and slammed back a shot, not really paying attention to Sasuke. _"Snubbed by Akimichi..."_

Sakura ordered something over the din and pointed to Sasuke when the bartender held out his hand. Sasuke dug into his pocket yet again for his wallet and handed over a hundred and fifty ryo.

For shots.

"_Fuck..."_

Sakura handed him one and they toasted silently, eyes meeting over the alcohol. Once Sasuke had downed the liquor, Sakura pulled him up from the stool and toward the dance floor.

He didn't stand a chance.

He trailed behind her helplessly, staring at her butt as it swayed sexily back and forth in front of him. He wasn't horny, just... distracted. They reached the floor and Sakura continued to push into the crowd. Sasuke caught a glimpse of Naruto dancing by himself, weaving his way through the crowd, hands above his head with a bare torso except for the First's necklace glinting in the intermittent light.

"_This is insane."_

Sasuke looked around him. Girls and boys pressed their bodies into each other, girls danced drunkenly with each other and some people, like Naruto danced by themselves in their own worlds, while others like Ino, danced with everyone and anyone.

"_This is completely bat-shit insane."_

Sakura stopped walking and turned to Sasuke, grabbing his other hand.

"Just feel!" She yelled over the pounding music. She put both of his hands on her hips. "Close your eyes if you have to!"

At that moment the song mixed into another one, bringing a cheer from the crowd.

"Oh this is a great song!" Sakura exclaimed, excited. "Its from Suna, its so exotic!"

Sakura threw her hands over her head and started to shake her hips to the beat. Sasuke stood still, idiotically holding her hips.

"Watch!" Sakura indicated as Ino neared her. She nodded at Ino and the blonde knew what to do. The two girls grabbed hands and started to step toward and away from each other, hands up. Suddenly, the beat picked up, and Ino spun Sakura's waist around in between her hands and pressed her body up into Sakura's back. The girls had their eyes closed and they were grinding and stepping in time with each other. They twirled around each other and it looked to Sasuke like their legs were entwined, the girls had joined hips and their hands were free. The girls' bodies were undulating and they leaned back and forth from each other. Sakura looped her fingers through Ino's hair and, legs still entwined, they dipped and swung gracefully with each other in perfect balance and harmony like two figure skaters.

Sasuke's eyes were practically bugging out of his head. He was sure they would start stripping and kissing any moment. Finally the girls broke apart and Ino broke into a hysterical laugh at the sight of Sasuke. Sakura smiled innocently at him, looking purposefully into his face.

It was then that Sasuke realized he was standing stock-still in the middle of the dance floor with a raging hard-on.

Sakura tugged at his hand and pulled him close to her, pressing her hips into his sensitive area.

"This way no one will see." She spoke loudly into his ear. "The song is almost over."

He nodded and tried to swing his hips in time with hers, but the movement felt jerky to him. Besides, he was gonna blow if she kept this up much longer.

To Sasuke's relief the song changed soon but it wasn't much better.

"_Turn up the music let's get out on the floor,_

Sakura's plump, moist lips mouthed the words.

_I like to move it, come on, give me some more..."_

"_Watch me getting physical, out of control..."_

"_There's people watching me, I never miss a beat..."_

Sakura's breasts pressed into his chest.

"_Still the night, kill the lights, feel it under your skin..."_

Sakura's voice rang out near Sasuke's ear. She ran her hands along the sides of his body and hooked her fingertips into the waistband of his pants. He brought his hand to her hair and dragged his hand around her neck and down her collarbone tenatively while still moving his hips. He got brave and ran his hand over her jacket and laid it to rest on her waist. Suddenly, everyone in the club was jumping, hands up, two inches between people, if that.

Everyone seemed to be singing from the looks on their faces but only the music blared in his ears.

"_Evacuate the dance floor!"_

Sakura's breasts bounced tantalizingly in front of his face.

"_I'm infected by the sound!"_

He gave in and closed his eyes.

"_Stop this beat, it's killing me!"_

He threw his hands up into the air.

"_Hey Mr. DJ let the music take me underground."_

And for a moment, Sasuke let go of everything and jumped along with the crowd, turning his face to the ceiling, waving his hands, not caring what he looked like or what he felt like, just basking in the ecstasy of being up against Sakura's body, free, wild, and saturated with lust.

Sasuke smiled a real smile and understood what Naruto must have been feeling when he saw him earlier. He rolled his shoulders and ran his hand through his hair, rubbing up against Sakura the whole time, little did he realize that just about everyone on the sidelines had their eyes on Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha grinding and dirty dancing in the middle of the dance floor. The word spread quickly, the Uchiha was dancing like no one had ever seen before with his eyes closed, face turned toward his lover, a smile pasted on his face.

The world was surely coming to an end.

XXXXxxxxxXXXXXX

Sakura and Sasuke stumbled home from the club, Sakura carried her shoes in one hand and leaned against Sasuke for support. They were both thoroughly drenched in sweat, but they were happy and satisfied.

Apparently, Sasuke loved to dance.

Sakura smiled at the thought and leaned up to Sasuke for a kiss, a request which he granted her all too happily.

They traipsed through the empty, dusty streets thinking about nothing and anything and everything in their drunken haze, laughing and weaving along the sidewalks and alleyways of Konoha. They got to Sasuke's house and Sasuke allowed Sakura to remove his shoes after she insisted. It took her a few tries but she got it. They helped each other up and stumbled down to his bedroom, Sakura pulling him along, walking backwards, with Sasuke pretending to resist. They finally stood together in the dark room, kissing passionately, and Sakura ran her tongue along Sasuke's lips seeking a taste. He obeyed her instinctively, parting his lips and running his own tongue feverishly over hers. Suddenly a strong desire to lead took over him and he gripped the back of her neck with his fingers, running his thumb over and behind her ear, pressing his hand desperately onto her shoulder under her jacket, urging her to take the thing off.

She shrugged off the heavy piece of clothing and Sasuke didn't hesitate to guide his hands under her shirt next to slide it up over her head, all while continuing to kiss her. She broke the kiss to throw the shirt over her head, revealing a creamy lace-trimmed push up bra. He cupped one of her breasts in his hand appreciatively, and she freed her hands from his thick hair to unbutton his shirt hastily. He helped her as best as he could, then impatiently tore off his undershirt. He pressed against her as quickly as possible, wanting to be close to her warmth and she tilted her head back from him, exposing her alabaster throat to him.

Sasuke couldn't resist. He kissed and licked his way hungrily down her neck, nipping gently at her collarbone. Sakura moaned and wove her fingers through his hair deliciously again. Slowly, Sasuke pushed her back until they collapsed onto the soft bed with a mutual gasp. Sasuke readjusted Sakura under him so that they lay in the middle of the bed together. He gazed at her beautiful body before him, splayed out unabashedly in her desire. He instinctively fell to his elbows, their lips crashing into another breathless kiss and his hips crashing uncontrollably into her crotch.

"_Damn these jeans."_ Sasuke cursed mentally. He reached a hand down and fumbled with Sakura's jeans for a minute. Out of nowhere, her hand guided him under the critical lip of fabric, teaching rather than doing, and he pulled the button free of the hole at last. In a quick jerk he tugged the short zipper down and looped his thumb into the waistline of her pants.

She helped him pull them off.

Sasuke took his now free hand and kneaded Sakura's breast gently and she moaned softly under him as she struggled with the fly of his new pants. He smirked into her mouth, then brought his face to the junction of her shoulder and her slender neck and sealed his lips over the area, sucking, running his tongue roughly over the sensitive area.

Sakura moaned louder.

She finally freed up the front of his pants and tugged them down off of his butt. He broke away from her again, briefly, to pull them off, and they immediately resumed their actions. Sasuke's kisses were working their way into Sakura's bra, lower and lower. Sakura wrapped her legs around his waist and Sasuke pressed his hard length into the warmth in between her legs, thin fabric the only thing separating the two now. Sakura met his tentative press with an urgent upward thrust of her hips.

And this was what brought Sasuke crashing back to reality with a jerk.

He broke away from her slowly and sighed.

"We can't do this."

Sakura looked up at him needily but did not beg.

"Why not?" She asked instead.

"We should wait..." Sasuke leaned away from Sakura, kneeling in between her legs. This was a mistake, because now her need for him was apparent, her moisture soaking the cloth in between her legs. She must have realized this because she immediately shut her legs, thrusting her clasped hands in between her limbs. But the effect that had on her breasts was almost as bad. Sasuke shook his head as though that would make the situation disappear. Sakura looked at Sasuke, confused, feeling slightly betrayed. But at the same time she understood.

"I was saving this for you." She looked straight at him, emboldened by the alcohol that still coursed through her system.

"Good, because I have no idea what I'm doing either." Sasuke looked down at his knees, brow creased.

Sakura laughed, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Kami, I was worried I wouldn't meet your expectations!"

Sasuke smirked at her honesty.

"We'll have plenty of time for this later." He hoped she picked up on the hint.

She didn't, and it was apparent in the childish giggle she responded with.

Sasuke laughed as well and motioned for her to pick up her butt so that he could pull the duvet out from under her.

Together they spooned under the covers, inadequately dressed but mentally prepared to resist the temptation at one anothers' fingertips.

XXXXxxxxXXXXxxx

Sasuke leaned on his side and stared silently at the sleeping kunoichi beside him. The blue-orange morning light was just peeking into the room, tinting her white cheeks a gentle pink. He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand and her eyes fluttered open.

She was a ninja after all.

She smiled sleepily, blissfully at Sasuke.

Sasuke bent toward her and kissed her softly.

"Wait one second." He turned to the beside table and noisily opened the drawer, retrieving something.

Sakura waited patiently with the same smile on her face.

Sasuke turned to her and smiled at her as well. He reached for her hand under the covers and slipped the simple ring that had been passed from generation to generation among the Uchihas around her finger.

"Marry me?"

Sasuke cocked his head slightly and raised his eyebrows questioningly at Sakura.

Sakura clasped his hand tightly under the covers and suddenly broke into tears, throwing herself at him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Sasuke rubbed her back gently.

"Of course I'll marry you Sasuke. Of course."

Sasuke smiled at her and kissed her cotton-candy locks.

"I'm glad." He murmured.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 8 : What Really Matters..._

Sakura walked briskly across the village, arms swinging at her sides. She hardly ever came to this part of town so she peered carefully at her surroundings. Maintaining her pace, she finally came to the gate leading to the Hyuuga estate. She sped through the hinged gate, doors swinging behind her and made her way to the shoji door that separated the house from the lush garden in the entryway. It was late June, just a week or so since Sasuke proposed and there were all sorts of flowers and bittersweet-smelling herbs in the small patch. A few orchids stood proudly in the shade nearest to the door. Sakura smiled waveringly.

"_Moment of truth..."_

Sakura knocked tentatively on the doorjamb. Moments later she heard light, fast steps in the room beyond. The door slid open gently, and Neji looked her seriously in the face.

"Can I help you with something, Sakura-san?"

Sakura fought to keep up her smile.

"Is Hinata home by any chance?"

Neji nodded, tacit.

"Can I come in?" she ventured.

"Un."

Her eyebrow twitched.

Neji stood aside and she stepped into the genkan, slipping her sandals off and taking the step up into the entryway. It was beautiful but not lavish, the polished wooden floor gleamed and the shoji looked new. A low table with a delicate looking flower arrangement sat on the left, and a few simple yet artful calligraphy scrolls adorned the walls. Neji looked meaningfully at Sakura, and she followed him through the house to the courtyard. People could be heard training in the dojo through the paper doors, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder if this would be what the Uchiha complex would be like if there were still people around to use all the rooms in the house. They made their way around the courtyard along the raised walkway and she noticed that even the plants in the courtyard were arranged carefully around the fountain and koi pond that lay just off-center in the yard. Even the slender maple and cherry trees that dotted the area seemed strategically placed, as though copied from an ancient painting of some imperial lawn.

Finally, Neji slowed and rapped twice on the jamb before entering the room and standing off to the side of the door. Hinata looked up quickly with her mouth open slightly. She sat on the floor in a simple lavender yukata with small sprays of white and pink plum blossoms across it. Her hand, holding a sumi brush, was poised above a scroll she had already begun her calligraphy on.

"Sakura-san came to see you."

Sakura blushed slightly, roles reversed today. Sakura had come in her normal attire, red shirt, pink skirt and black shorts, armed fairly heavily with her kunai holsters strapped to her legs and a pouch full of shuriken and wire at her backside. She felt very tomboyish at the moment, more so than usual.

Hinata blushed at the sight of Sakura blushing.

"He-hello, Sakura." She uttered meekly.

"Hi." Sakura gave the other girl a small wave.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it and return to my duties."

He eyed Hinata viciously for a split second and left the room quickly, ponytail swinging behind him.

Sakura carefully slid the shoji door shut and awkwardly went to sit across from Hinata in the seiza style, mimicking her friend. After a few seconds, Hinata resumed her calligraphy abashedly and shortly afterward, Sakura broke the silence.

"What are you writing? Looks interesting." She half-lied. What was more interesting was that Hinata was pursuing calligraphy at all.

Hinata blushed furiously.

"Poetry." She hung her head.

"Really?" Sakura was intrigued now. "What do you write about?"

Hinata put her brush down on the small holder.

"Uhh..." She looked to the side. "It's for Naruto-kun..." She murmured.

Sakura almost laughed. "Uhh, really?" she managed to stifle her mirth.

"I know its silly, but we are exchanging letters since we can only see each other officially once a week. My father became very incensed when w-we..." She glanced meaningfully at the pink-haired kunoichi.

Sakura understood instantly, and she felt bad for Hinata. "That really sucks." She tried to be empathetic.

Hinata nodded.

A couple of moments went by silently. Sakura picked at a corner of her skirt, not sure how to broach the subject of her and Sasuke with this girl she barely knew. It turns out she didn't need to initiate the conversation, contrary to her assumption.

"So, is there something you'd like to t-talk about with me, Sakura?"

A serious smile graced Sakura's face. "Yes, yes there is Hinata. Your family is the most... _traditional_ in the village and well, Sasuke asked me to marry him..." She trailed off. It still hadn't really sunk in for the young woman.

Hinata raised her gaze to Sakura's face in shock, lilac eyes locking with Sakura's sea-green ones.

"Really?" Hinata leaned forward slightly in interest.

"Yes." Sakura beamed now, proud. "We will be getting married in about a month. In the meantime he and Naruto are working on the ANBU exams and preparations." She flashed a toothy grin at Hinata.

Hinata sighed wistfully. "That's so beautiful, I'm so happy for you!" She clasped her hands to her ample busom. "How wonderful!"

Sakura nodded. "There's only one thing, really." Hinata stayed in her dreamy state. "Sasuke and I have agreed to have a traditional ceremony at the shrine, so as to honor his parents. I've never seen your house before, but from the looks of it the Uchihas must have been pretty close to your family when it comes to following the old ways." Sakura faltered. "I'm kind of... ignorant when it comes to these things and I'll need help planning this thing since I don't have my mother to help me anymore."

Hinata pulled herself out of her trance-like state and nodded. Sakura's mother had passed away four years ago after an unfortunate accident in which she had been trying to move a refrigerator by herself while Sakura was out on a mission. Sakura's father had died on a mission when she was quite small, so she didn't even remember him.

"Well, I've been looking at wedding plans myself. My family wants me to have an elaborate wedding, also in the traditional style so Naruto-kun and I will be following all of the old customs to the letter. They are very intricate, numerous and... expensive..." Hinata faltered.

Sakura smiled a little. "It's ok. I don't know that we will be following all of the traditional wedding stuff but I want to get as close as I can without it being tedious. Mainly I think the ceremony is what matters to us."

Hinata sighed. "But you'll need an Uchikake. They are so expensive! And you all will be exchanging expensive- and meaningful- gifts at the ceremony. Sasuke will need hakama with his family crest embroidered on it and although it seems like simple enough attire, because of his status as the head of his clan and also his shinobi ranking, it will need to be made of the finest materials available." Hinata shook her head gently. "We are talking about more than a hundred thousand ryo with just those elements."

Sakura sat silently, dumbfounded. "For just that?" Hinata nodded.

"Trust me, please, I have looked into the matter extensively." the timid woman voiced softly.

"Ok..." Sakura muttered uncertainly.

"_This is getting expensive already. I wonder if Sasuke knows this..."_

"But I hear that Sasuke takes many high-class missions. And there are rumors that the entire Uchiha fortune went to him even though he is not the firstborn. You all... might be ok." Hinata said nervously.

Sakura nodded. "You're probably right." She flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. It was getting long now...

"You might need to recruit some children from the academy to be your attendants..."

Sakura shook her head. "We want it to be kind of small."

Hinata raised a brow slightly. "Who will be your go-betweens? No traditional marriage involves just the bride and the groom." Hinata frowned. "Since neither of you have any living family members, you will have to pick people who have had a significant influence on your lives."

Sakura thought for a minute. "Kakashi could be Sasuke's go-between. I-I don't really have anyone at all." Sakura hung her head. "I'm not really close to anyone. Not even Ino. She's so far gone..."

Hinata nodded. "That girl is on a path to destruction."

Sakura sighed deeply in agreement. A few more pregnant, pensive moments passed.

"Umm, I could be your go-between, Sakura. After all, you trusted me enough to ask me for help with all of this. And we- we really do get along." Hinata blushed and clasped her hands together in her lap tightly. Sakura stared at the dark-haired girl disbelievingly. "You would do that for me?"

Hinata nodded hopefully.

"Thank you!" Sakura leaned forward and smiled brightly. "This is going to be great! I'm so glad we have gotten to know each other finally, Hinata!"

Hinata just smiled.

"I'm not wearing the Tsuno Kakushi though!" Sakura exclaimed.

Hinata frowned abruptly. "That's an integral part of your wedding attire!"

Sakura pouted. "I won't give in to anyone! Not even Sasuke! And his mom isn't even around to boss me around so what's the point?"

Suddenly Hinata burst out laughing, and it was a beautiful, tinkling bell sound. "There couldn't be a less traditional couple!" She exclaimed.

Sakura smiled. "You got that right!" She scooted forward as Hinata rolled up her love poem. "Let's get planning, girlfriend! From the sound of it, this may really take all month! At least Sasuke had that right."

Sakura grinned and Hinata smiled brightly and tilted her head, unrolling a new, clean scroll.

XxXXXxxxxXXXxxx

Sakura flitted across the rooftops, on cloud nine, clutching a pink scroll in her hand. She had a dreamy smile pasted across her face, and she rolled and leapt deftly across the roofs of the village. She cleared the gap in between the rest of the village and the Uchiha complex with ease, making her way to Sasuke in the dim light. He should be home from speaking with Kakashi and Yamato about his and Naruto's nominations. Sakura jumped down right in front of the door and let herself in.

"Tadaima!"

"Okairi nasai!" Sasuke called back from some distant part of the house.

"Sasuke, we need to talk!" Sakura called, stepping onto the walkway. "Where are you?"

"Right here."

She turned abruptly to find Sasuke covered in dust, the door to his parent's room slightly ajar behind him. Sasuke was frowning sadly and his eyes were downcast. Sakura's eyebrows rose slightly in shock.

"What are you doing in there?"

Sasuke shrugged, looking away. "Going through some old stuff. Organizing and putting stuff away that should have been put away a long time ago. Locking up stuff that nobody needs or wants anymore."

Sakura simply nodded. That was the most Sasuke had said to her in one go in awhile.

"Ok. Well, I don't know if you're in the mood, but I went to visit Hinata today about the wedding and she and I wrote down all kinds of stuff on this scroll," she waved it in front of her a little bit. "I think we should talk about this. And not to be prying, but how much money _do_ you have?"

Sasuke sighed and turned to shut the door behind him fully. _"I'll finish that later..."_

"Let's talk in the kitchen."

Sakura nodded and turned, Sasuke followed her. He grabbed a bottle of shochu from the cabinet over the fridge, along with a couple of glasses. Sakura sat at the worn table.

"I know the old style weddings are costly." Sasuke clipped as he sat.

Sakura nodded, untying the scroll. Sasuke poured their glasses half full. "That's not the half of it. The actual stuff we need is going to take time to get, and we need people for this too. Not only that but we need to pick an auspicious date, according to Hinata, and we are going to need to get gifts for each other..." Sasuke stared at her blankly as she rattled off everything that needed to be arranged, bought and planned. "We need to have you fitted for hakama and I need to get a kimono." Sakura looked at Sasuke a little fearfully. "They are bloody expensive. Hinata says hers is going to cost 130,000 ryo."

Sasuke blinked.

"_What have I gotten myself into?"_

"Ok." The word came out of his mouth sounding strained.

"You never answered me. How much money can we spend on this? I don't want to go overboard." Sakura chewed her lower lip worriedly.

"Don't worry about the money." He imparted, confirming her suspicions. "I'll pay for everything except whatever gifts you buy me. I know that normally you would gift me the hakama, but don't worry about that, I'll procure them. How much do you need?" He took a swig of his drink.

Sakura held hers delicately in between her hands. "I-I'm not sure. At least... probably 450,000 ryo." She blurted softly. "We've got to pay for my dress and accessories, make-up and hair, we need to pay the attendants and the priest at the shrine. We have to pay the Hokage for the marriage license and certificate before we can go to the shrine. Then there will be the reception, we will need to either rent a dance hall or a big tent, tables and chairs, and we need to get dinner catered. We will have to pay for the alcohol and also the flowers and the music. There won't be a big ceremony but if you think about it, we know quite a few people in the village and we... according to Hinata we should throw a big reception for all of our co-workers and friends. I'll need a different dress for that because I am not dancing in a 100,000 ryo kimono getup. We will need to pay someone to help clean up. I think that's it, assuming we don't have to pay extra to rent china and glass for the reception."

Sasuke nodded slightly, and took another swig of alcohol. He pushed his chair back from the table.

"Give me a minute."

He left the kitchen and she heard his footsteps trace a path around the courtyard to his room. She drank some of the bitter alcohol and pulled a face. _"I hate shochu."_ She wrinkled her nose, downing some more. _"This has to be the most stressful thing I've ever done."_ Sakura sat quietly staring at her glass in a slight haze as the strong liquor started to give her a buzz. Finally Sasuke returned with a stack of cash in one hand. He set it on the table in between the two of them as he sat down, then he sighed again.

"There's 500,000 ryo there. I hope there is some left over after you've gotten all of that stuff you mentioned to me." He waved his hand vaguely at the scroll. "Try to be thrifty."

Sakura nodded, still in shock.

"_500,000 ryo? Where did he get that from? That's just lying around the house?" _Sakura looked at Sasuke as she stiffly took the stack of money from the table and wrapped it with some gauze before putting it in her medical pouch. _"He's a fucking millionaire."_ She could hardly believe it, what with how sad Sasuke looked in that moment, slouching in his chair and staring sorrowfully at his nearly empty glass of shochu, fiddling with it. A few more moments went by. Sakura sat awkwardly wondering what she should be doing. Finally she stood and strode around the table, bending rigidly to the unhappy man in front of her and planting a timid kiss on his cold cheekbone.

"Goodnight, Sasuke. I'll be setting up the arrangements over the next couple of weeks, then. I..." She faltered. "I love you." She whispered. Sakura turned and hurried to the genkan nervously. As she was slipping her sandals on, she heard Sasuke rise behind her. She stood and watched him approach her slowly. He still had a soft, pained look on his face, the same one he had when she first got to the house, and his hands were shoved coldly in his pockets.

"Oh..." Sakura muttered. "I forgot to tell you, you need to talk to Kakashi again, you need a go-between for the ceremony. I figure he would be the best one for the job."

Sasuke nodded.

Sakura turned to leave.

"Sakura..." Sasuke reached a hand out to her tentatively.

"Yes?" She half-turned to him.

"I..." Sasuke looked away and to the floor once again, and now more than ever he resembled an abandoned child. His outstretched hand shrunk back slightly. "I love you." He muttered as his hand swung back down to his side.

Sakura smiled softly and closed the distance between the two, taking Sasuke's hand in hers and reaching her free arm around him in a comforting embrace.

"Thanks, Sasuke." She murmured into the crook of his neck, enjoying the clean scent of his hair. Sasuke lightly placed his other hand on the small of her back and allowed his head to rest heavily, tiredly on her shoulder.

He didn't say anything but his actions spoke volumes to the kunoichi.

He had definitely fallen for her.

XXXxxxxXXXxxxXXx

Sasuke was up at the crack of dawn the next day after a sleepless night of lying in bed listening for noises. By now he had fully accepted what Karin had tried to convince him of all that time ago. Last night he had been sorting through his mother and father's personal belongings and putting them away for good. After Sakura had left, he still couldn't sleep so he had spent much of the night in the semi-dark room putting his mother's old clothes, cosmetics and other personal effects in a chest, which he then locked and put away in the closet where her things had been strewn. He had started on his father's things, but even now it was difficult for Sasuke to think for long on the parents he had lost. However strict and stern his father had been, Sasuke was sure now that his father must have loved him on some level. Sasuke was particularly sensitive at this time due to the circumstances of him being on the verge of marriage, and he found himself sitting listlessly, clutching some shirt or shoe or paper and thinking on the past. He couldn't help but remember how his parents looked lying across each other in that very room, covered with blood, blank eyes piercing his young soul to the core. Itachi, standing in the shadows behind them, blood spattered across his uniform, sword drawn. Even to this day, Sasuke felt a chill of terror run through him at the thought. After looking over his shoulder for the hundredth time that night, Sasuke could no longer bear it, and tense with fear, he made his way back to his room with slow, metered steps and breaths.

It was too much for him.

He had been clearing the room with a vague hope that he and Sakura would take up residence there as the new heads of the household. However much he disliked the idea of them sleeping in that cursed room, he hoped that it would be habitable. But it seemed he was wrong. How could he sleep there if he couldn't even stand to be there for more than a couple of hours in the dark?

Sasuke pulled on a clean uniform as well as his green flak vest. He made his way to the kitchen where he grabbed an orange and slid out the door, still pulling on his shoes. He hopped up to the rooftop, admittedly sluggish from a lack of sleep, and he paused to reach into his holster for a kunai to start the orange peel. With a flick of his wrist he sliced a precise gash in the peel, avoiding the juicy flesh underneath. His kunai spun around his finger once and he slid it into his pouch and took a step forward, only to suddenly become alert to a presence in front of him as he slid a finger under the thick rind of the fragrant fruit.

Sasuke froze as he looked down.

He began to shake, and his eyes widened as his mouth fell open a fraction.

On the street below him, looking up toward Sasuke was another young man, standing in the alley next to his house like he owned it. He was unmistakable with his characteristic smile, dark shirt and pants and sword at his back, and messy mop of short, wavy hair; Sasuke recognized him immediately. Sasuke didn't need to see the blood staining the young man's cheeks and neck nor the deep cuts spanning the lengths of his forearms to know who he was, nor did Sasuke need to hear his voice to cement the identity of the person in front of him in his mind. But that didn't stop the semi-transparent form from speaking to him.

In front of the immobile Sasuke, Uchiha Shisui stood smiling and waving at his younger cousin.

"Hey, little cousin!" Shisui grinned, meeting Sasuke's eyes. "It's been a long time."

Sasuke's chest tightened and his grip on the orange did the same. His breaths came in quiet, shallow pants.

Shisui lowered his hand and gazed at his cousin for a bit.

"Well, congratulations. We're all happy for you. Can't wait for the kids." Shisui smiled.

Sasuke blanched.

"Sorry if I'm bothering you." Shisui apologized lightly. "Take care of yourself and that girl!" the apparition turned and as soon as Sasuke blinked, only Shisui's memory remained. Sasuke fell to his hands and knees on the roof a moment later, sweat dripping from his face. He tried to control his breathing as he was now close to hyperventilating. The orange rolled, forgotten, off of the roof entirely. The young Uchiha stayed like that for awhile, maybe five or ten minutes, slowly regaining his senses and his grasp on reality. Still afraid, he jumped down into the alley and went back into his house to drink some water and splash some of the same on his face. Finally, he had calmed down enough to go out in pursuit of Kakashi again, and so he stepped out of the house and walked along the streets to the gates of the complex with controlled, calm steps.

" _'**We're** **all** happy for you' ?"_

No matter what he told himself, Sasuke was terrified.

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Eventually, Sasuke found Kakashi in the jounin lounge, nose stuck in his porno. Of course, Kakashi would be here at 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday, waiting for a mission.

"_Work, drink, sleep and fuck, that's this guy's life."_ Sasuke sighed to himself.

"Hey." Sasuke stood in front of the other jounin, hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.

Kakashi merely waved at him over the top of his book.

"I need to talk to you."

"Oh?" Kakashi's eyebrow rose, but he didn't divert his attention from his literature.

"Yeah." Sasuke waited.

Kakashi kept reading.

Finally Sasuke got fed up and turned around.

"Sorry to bother you. I know your reading is important." Sasuke cringed inside at the snarky remark. Sakura must be rubbing off on him.

Kakashi threw his book down with a sigh.

"Sorry, sorry!" He threw his hands up apologetically. "What can I do for you?" It seemed as though Kakashi knew Sasuke was there to ask a favor.

Sasuke half-turned. "You really care?"

Kakashi nodded quickly. Sasuke turned to fully face the jounin. "Fine. Sakura and I are getting married. I need you to be my go-between. I don't have anyone else."

It was as close to "You're like a father to me" as Kakashi was going to get, and he accepted that.

"No problem." Kakashi's gaze intensified. "But first you have to tell me, why are you marrying Sakura?"

Sasuke frowned.

Kakashi glowered in return. "You do plan on protecting her, loving her, providing for her in sickness and in health, supporting her with all your heart and being there for her when she needs you _emotionally_?" Kakashi inquired. "This is a heavy decision." Kakashi stood and approached the Uchiha. "You'd better not hurt her. Remember, we all vowed to protect her, no matter the cost. If you hurt her, and I catch you, I will kill you." Kakashi stared harshly, and his stance and body language screamed imminent violence.

Sasuke kept his cool. "Of course I understand all of that. I'm going to take care of her." Sasuke's mouth drew a firm line across his face. "I'll protect her to the best of my ability, you know that."

"Do I?" Kakashi prodded, trying to provoke the jounin.

"Trust me." Sasuke reiterated, "I've protected her up to now on missions and I talk to her all the time. I think I've changed too, Kakashi..." Sasuke trailed off.

Kakashi nodded and relaxed, mostly. "Ok." He hesitated. "I'll be your go-between. Just don't forget what I said. I really mean it." The edge to his voice was still apparent.

Sasuke nodded and smirked, holding out his hand, which Kakashi took reluctantly.

Sasuke turned away silently after shaking his former sensei's hand and stalked out of the building towards his house for a nap.

Definitely, he'd been through enough shit for one day.

XxXXXxxXXXxxXXXxx

Days melded into weeks as Sakura and Hinata flew around the village getting things ready for the wedding. If there was anyone left who didn't know that the heir to the Uchiha clan was marrying Sakura Haruno, the fifth Hokage's apprentice, then they must have been either in a coma or living under a rock. The girls busied themselves readying everything from invitations to the reception's menu to coordinating flower arrangements, favors for the guests and finding someone skilled enough to do Sakura's hair up in the traditional coif. Sasuke had made the trip to the Cat Grandmother to have his hakama tailored, and he had actually had them for just over a week now. He had also been able to bring himself to look through some other chests in a storage area of the house for his mother's kimono. With Hinata's expert help he selected a rich silk obi in varying shades of sea green with a vague wave pattern on it to give to Sakura for their wedding. Hinata told him about the obi representing a woman's virtue and how it was traditional for the groom to gift such a thing to his wife to be in order to show how he valued her own virtue.

Of course, he had no clue what Sakura would be getting him.

Finally, the day was nearing and Sasuke found himself unable to sleep again, but this time for a different reason.

Tomorrow he was getting married, and his stomach was flip-flopping so hard it hurt. Sasuke curled into a ball and laid in his bed in the dark, staring at the shoji.

Yes, it was going to be another long night.

A/N: Sorry for the late update, these chapters are proving increasingly difficult for me to write. I spent two days staring at my computer before I was able to get this onto 'paper'. Happy things are hard to write. I hope this doesn't seem rushed, and I hope you all enjoy it.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Damned Author's Notes. There is a loooong lemon in this chapter. Enjoy the hell out of it. And review please. I love u guys, thanks for reading! :3

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 9 : Forever's Promise_

Sasuke awoke a few hours later to the stench of ramen and beer in his face. He reflexively grabbed a kunai from under his mattress and swiped at the figure above him, who rolled clumsily off of the bed onto the floor. Sasuke rolled in the opposite direction and launched the kunai at the intruder who was just picking himself up off of the floor. The intruder grunted and disappeared promptly with a 'poof'. Sasuke scanned the room quickly with his now active sharingan. Just outside of his door, he detected the unmistakable chakra of his friend the nine-tails' container. Sasuke relaxed slightly, but his defensive air was immediately replaced with one of irritation. He stomped over to the door and pushed it open violently.

"What's the idea here?"

Naruto was snickering. "You're going to have to do better than that for ANBU."

Sasuke scowled. "I'm tired. What do you want?"

Naruto grinned cunningly. "I want to take you out for one last night of fun before Sakura crushes your soul."

"Go home." Sasuke snarled.

Naruto shook his head, still grinning idiotically. "Nope. Let's go."

Sasuke sighed irritably and turned to get dressed. He pulled his jeans up and shrugged on his jounin shirt from earlier in the day.

"Goddamned bijuu. Trying to get some fucking sleep so I'm not a fucking zombie tomorrow but no, _Naruto_ is my _best friend_." he muttered darkly as he dressed. Finally he emerged from the room.

Naruto nodded in approval and took to the rooftops. Sasuke glanced around. _"Coast clear..."_

They leapt across the rooftops until Naruto jumped down in front of their destination.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "No fucking way." he asserted.

Music blared from the building in front of them and Naruto waved his hands animatedly as he protested Sasuke's decision. "What do you mean?" he exclaimed. "I'll pay for everything!"

Sasuke shook his head, turning away from the raunchy establishment.

"I'm not going into any building that has the word 'titties' across its front."

Naruto whined, "This place is classy!"

"Suit yourself, I'm getting a drink at Eddy's and going home."

Naruto took one last look of longing at the strip club and reluctantly turned to follow his friend.

"Fine..." he whined.

The pair stalked unhappily to Eddy's. Sasuke pushed his way in first and made his way straight to the bar without looking around.

"Sauza." he intoned simply.

The old barkeep nodded and, seconds later, set the drinks down along with some limes and salt. Sasuke rubbed the lime across his hand and mashed it into the salt as Naruto followed suit.

"Cheers." Sasuke muttered as they held their glasses up. The pair downed the liquor immediately and the pattern repeated itself a few more times.

Kakashi peered out from under his hitae-ate.

"And there's another reason for me not to get married."

Genma nodded. "Your turn."

Kakashi aimed carefully at the yellow 6 ball. He gently and gracefully slipped the cue in between his fingers and masterfully sunk the solid sphere into the corner pocket. Standing, he spun the chalk on the end of the pool cue.

"I don't trust that fucker."

Genma nodded again. "With Sakura."

"With a chia pet." Kakashi grumbled. "He's gonna kill her..."

Genma scoffed. "Have you seen Sakura lately?"

Kakashi glowered at the orally fixated nin.

"I'm going to shove that senbon up your ass, Shiranui."

"Whoa! The violence!" Genma exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"You know what I mean." Kakashi snapped as he bent over the table to take his next shot. A cry could be heard from across the lounge.

"Oh, shit!"

Kakashi's cue ground into the felt under the cue ball and the orb flew across the table, landing squarely in the side pocket.

"Fuck..."

He looked up to catch a glimpse of a blonde blur sprinting into the bathroom.

"Beer before liquor, idiot." Sasuke called.

"Hmph." Kakashi stalked over to the Uchiha, oblivious to his friend's cautionary murmurs of protest. He held a finger up to his friend. _"One sec."_

Kakashi sat heavily into the stool next to Sasuke.

"Come back to threaten me some more?" the Uchiha grumbled sourly.

"Maybe." Kakashi murmured.

They sat in relative silence for a moment.

"Vodka. Silvovica." Kakashi requested as the bartender passed him, and held up two fingers. The bartender dropped the double in front of the copy-nin who proceeded to sip it like it was water.

"You like Sakura? She says you're different from before." he opened.

"Hn. I told you that too."

"Ah." Kakashi sipped some more. "So how is it with her?"

Sasuke glared at the man. "Don't push me."

"What? Not happy about tomorrow? You should be _overjoyed_."

Sasuke scoffed. "Not happy, period. Spent the week cleaning my parents' room," he raised his voice slightly "nervous as fuck about tomorrow. Seeing weird-" he stopped short. "Never mind." he muttered. _"Goddamn alcohol."_

Kakashi drained his shot glass. "Oh. _That_."

Sasuke nodded.

"What happened?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's stupid. I don't want to talk about it."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Let's walk."

Sasuke shrugged. "And the dobe?"

Kakashi looked at Genma and pointed to the restroom. Genma waved. Kakashi stood and a few seconds later Sasuke reluctantly followed him. They turned down the street toward Kakashi's favorite haunt and the two men's footsteps echoed mutedly in the deserted street. Finally they stood before the memorial, hands in their pockets, similarly slouched.

"So what happened?"

Sasuke sighed. "I don't know what to do about it."

"Hn."

"Sakura is close to figuring it out. She saw something very... interesting a couple months back." Kakashi raised his eyebrow again. "But she stopped confronting me about it. She knows when I'm done talking."

Kakashi nodded again. The Uchiha opened up to silence better than prodding questions. Sasuke sucked his teeth.

"Freakin..." Sasuke paused. He shrugged. "I guess... Karin was right."

Kakashi shook his head. "You don't still love her do you?"

"Tch." Sasuke scoffed. "I never liked her to begin with. She disgusts me. I'm talking about..." the young Uchiha activated his sharingan for the second time that night and scanned the area. "the.. the ghosts." he whispered and looked Kakashi in the eye.

Kakashi felt his palms go cold and sweaty. "You're kidding." he didn't really want to believe what Sasuke was telling him. But Sasuke was one of the most objective, analytical people he knew. He knew Sasuke wouldn't bullshit him.

"Dead serious." Sasuke murmured, lips barely moving. "I saw Shisui."

Kakashi blanched. "Are you-"

Sasuke shot him a burning look. "Of course." he interrupted. "I'm not stupid, and I'm not crazy. Just like Sakura said, I know what I saw." his shoulders slumped.

"Sakura saw them too?" Kakashi's voice was strained. Sasuke nodded. "She doesn't know for sure though, like I said. This is a fucking disaster." The Uchiha ran his fingers through his hair.

Kakashi just stood still. "Well, I can see what you're worked up about."

"Before I came to the bar I spent a few hours trying to sleep. And then just when I had finally fallen asleep Naruto wakes me up with his ramen breath!" Sasuke complained, rolling his eyes.

Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah I'd be pissed too. I just wanted to make sure you don't have some kind of... evil plan."

Sasuke's eyebrows arched. "Plan?"

Kakashi nodded. "I thought you were marrying Sakura for some other reason. Other than loving her I mean."

Sasuke sighed again. "Well that's stupid." he muttered. "Is that why you've been such a dick lately?"

Kakashi nodded again and smiled. "Well, if that's your reason for being an asshole all the time, I guess I understand. Sounds like you guys have a lot to work out with a house full of... yeah." Kakashi ran his hand under his hitae-ate over his sweaty forehead. "Well. I'll see you later. Ja ne." Kakashi waved and turned away from the young man who nodded vaguely as a parting gesture to his old sensei.

Sasuke just stared at the memorial, thinking until the sun came up.

XXXXXxxxxxxxXXXXXX

Sakura stretched her arms above her head and yawned deeply, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She sat up slowly and swung her legs out from underneath the covers, setting her feet on the cool floor. She glanced at the clock. 5:30. She had plenty of time for a nice shower before she had to start getting ready. She traipsed out of bed, pulling her nightgown up over her head and allowing it to fall from her fingertips to the floor. The early rays that spilt through her blinds felt glorious on her naked body, and she allowed herself another good stretch toward the ceiling.

"Aaahh!" she sighed.

She padded into the bathroom and examined her body carefully as the water in the shower warmed up. Small pink nipples. Innie belly button. A miniscule horizontal stretch mark on her butt. The same few freckles on her back. Poky, tiny pink hairs on her shins and knees. A shiny scar on her thigh. All hers until 11:00. She sighed hugging herself, then smiled, giddy and jumped into the shower and began to scrub her body with a vengeance.

"_Time to get ready!"_

A few minutes later she jumped back out of the shower and dried off in a hurry, throwing on her shorts and button-up shirt. It was a cool morning, but she wouldn't be wearing these clothes for long. A loud knock resounded at her door.

"_Here they are!"_ Sakura's stomach flip-flopped. She hadn't even eaten yet!

"Coming!" She yelled, running to the door. Ino and Hinata stood together on the stoop.

"Come on, forehead!" Ino grabbed her hand and pulled the pinkette out of the house.

"Good morning, Sakura..." Hinata smiled softly.

"Hi, girls!" Sakura grinned widely. "Let's go!" her stomach seemed like it was shaking now.

"I brought you a bagel..." Hinata pulled a paper-wrapped package out of her bag. Sakura took it from her, noting its warmth.

"Gee, thanks!"

Hinata nodded happily, and the girls made their way to Hinata's house for their preparations, Ino babbling the whole time about flowers and Hinata and Sakura exchanging secret looks.

Of course, Sakura couldn't leave her childhood friend out of her wedding completely.

The hairdresser was already waiting for the girls when they got to the house. Ino and Hinata sat on the floor talking while the built young man brushed and teased Sakura's hair into the traditional style, tubular loops of hair ringing around her head and elaborate combs and pins accentuating the style. About 45 minutes later, he finally finished. The makeup artist was already waiting with her powders and rouges. While the makeup was being applied, Hinata assisted Ino with her furisode kimono, an elaborate black silk specimen with a weeping willow and crane motif. Her bright yellow obi and red obi tie contrasted elegantly with the expensive garment. Ino busied herself in the mirror doing her makeup in a western style. Hinata, with the help of her nursemaid, donned a much more subtle, but even more elegant kimono, also black, with a simple design of reeds and koi swirling in the white outline of a wave pattern. Her dark red obi and orange-red obi tie matched perfectly against the white, orange and red of the koi that adorned the lower edges of her kimono and sleeves. Her long hair was piled high on her head, and her makeup was done in such a manner as to make her appear even more mature and demure than usual. She smiled gently at Sakura.

"You look beautiful, Sakura." she breathed.

The makeup artist stood back to admire her work.

Sakura smiled as well, already feeling stiff. She didn't even have her uchikake on. "Thanks." Sakura murmured, feeling angelic. The makeup artist nodded and Sakura stood holding her head high.

Hinata giggled. "You can move your head, silly." Sakura relaxed a smidgen instantly.

"It's heavy!" Sakura complained. Hinata smiled sadly. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, its not your fault!" Ino called.

Sakura smiled apologetically, stripping. All this dressing and undressing. Hinata and her nursemaid helped her put on all of the different layers that belonged underneath the kimono, all of the slips and half-collars and collar liners; socks, shoes and finally the uchikake itself. It was pure white, with sakura blossoms embroidered and woven delicately into the quality silk. Sakura glanced at the clock. 10:00. _ "It's been four hours!"_ Sakura was horrified. Everything was happening so fast. What little color was visible under the makeup started to drain rapidly from her face.

"Guys, I can't do this." She shook her head slightly. "I... I can't be Uchiha Sakura." She started to cry.

Ino clucked her tongue as she immediately mopped up the huge tears that threatened to ruin Sakura's makeup.

"Stop it." She hissed "You're going to make me cry too." Ino looked away to hide the tears that were forming in her own eyes.

Hinata and her nursemaid were safe behind Sakura putting the finishing touches on her obi.

"I want to go home!" Sakura wailed. "I want m- my mom to b-be here with me." Sakura sniffed. "I don't want to b-be an Uch- hic -Uchihaaaaah!" She lamented for the whole Hyuuga household to hear, sobbing deeply again. Sakura tried to rub her hands across her face and Ino stopped her.

"D-don't S-sakura you'll ru-ruin your ma-make-up..." Ino blubbered, holding Sakura's hands.

"Waa, aa haa haaa..." Sakura cried. Hinata mopped up the girls' tears.

"It'll be ok." she reassured quietly. "Sasuke loves you, Sakura."

Sakura shook her head. "I know." She slurred. "I'm scared."

Hinata blanched. "Me too."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Suddenly Ino started laughing. "I'd be scared too if I was marrying a demon! Come on, Sakura, you've got it good! You're marrying the millionaire Uchiha heir!" She pumped her hands which still held Sakura's up and down for good measure. "You're going to have little Sasuke babies!"

Sakura smiled through her tears. "You're right, Ino, Hinata." She took the tissue from Hinata and blew her nose very carefully. "Did I smear my make-up?" She smiled faintly.

Ino and Hinata both laughed. "No!" they cried in unison.

They all looked at the clock. 10:12.

"Does Neji have Sasuke's present?"

Hinata nodded.

"We have to get to the Hokage's." the shy girl whispered.

Sakura nodded, feeling faint again. Ino grabbed their umbrella and the three girls made their way to the front of the house. Hinata's father and mother looked the girls over in approval. Ino and Hinata's nursemaid would be the attendants for the ceremony, and Neji carried Sasuke's massive oak cask of shochu, wrapped in hemp rope for a strong marriage. He looked annoyed. Sakura smiled at him.

"Thank you, Neji."

"Hn."

"_At least he only has to take it to the shrine, not all the way to the Hokage's office." _Sakura told herself. She bowed slowly to Hinata's parents and thanked them for allowing her to prepare for her special day at their house. It was their gift to her. Finally the four girls (including Hinata's nursemaid) turned and left the house in a delicate procession. No one would know by looking at them that they were some of the most lethal and skilled kunoichi in the village.

Catching many glances along the way, the girls walked to the Hokage's office from Hinata's estate, thankfully it wasn't too hot that day. They all tried to be ladylike while walking up the stairs all the way to the third floor. Once they arrived, Hinata's nursemaid knocked timidly at the door and the party entered.

Sakura nearly fell on her face.

There stood Uchiha Sasuke, clad in his dark grey hakama and black top, family crest adorning his shoulders and surely, his back. He looked seriously and intensely at his bride, dolled up in the monstrously expensive kimono he had bought her. She blushed furiously. One hand rested on his hip where his ever-present sword was fastened and the other hung limply at his side. The edge of his lip curled up ever so slightly, and Sakura knew he was beyond pleased with what he saw by the happiness his eyes betrayed to her. Kakashi stood just behind him in a black suit with a white shirt and tie, trying hard to look bored. Well, maybe he really was bored. Naruto grinned stupidly behind Kakashi, clad in similar attire and he opened his mouth, probably to yell something rude, but Kakashi kicked him in the shin and shook his head. Naruto shut his mouth with a faint _pop_.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." Sakura half-whispered._ "Why do I always get like this around him?"_

"Good morning, Sakura-chan." His deep voice seemed to fill the room. Sasuke's eyes seemed to twinkle at her.

Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Hokage-sama." Sakura bowed deeply to the woman as Sasuke continued to watch her.

"_I can't stop looking at her..."_

Lady Tsunade stood, picking up a scroll from her desk and walking around the furniture.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

The couple nodded and moved closer to each other, linking hands. Sakura's felt so small inside Sasuke's large, sweaty hand. Suddenly, Sasuke wished, not for the first time that morning, that he hadn't drank anything the night before. His stomach was all over the place.

"_Ready or not..."_

Tsunade's voice rang out authoritatively in the office.

"Do you, Sasuke Uchiha, take this woman, Sakura Haruno, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to _love_ and to _cherish_ from this day forward until death do you part?" Tsunade eyed him fiercely, her mouth pressed into a firm line.

Sasuke didn't hesitate for a moment. His voice rang almost as assertively as Tsunade's had - "I do."

He gripped Sakura's hand a little harder.

"And do you, Sakura Haruno, take this man, Sasuke Uchiha to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forth, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish from this day forward until death do you part?"

Sakura summoned strength from somewhere and held her head high, proud.

"I do!"

Tsunade smiled weakly.

"Well, there we have it. By the power vested in me by the citizens of Konoha and by the Will of Fire, I pronounce you husband and wife." Kakashi looked on, seemingly still bored. Hinata and Ino fought the tears that threatened to spill at any moment. Naruto whooped and cheered, free at last.

And Sakura and Sasuke were walking on air. Their eyes locked and no words needed to be said as they leaned in closer and closer to each other. Their lips met in a gentle, heartfelt kiss and Sasuke felt a clenching in the back of his throat. It was a feeling he was unaccustomed to, the Kamis had blessed him with a visit from someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

It was joy.

"Hurry up and sign these papers! I've got a hidden village full of ninja to run!" Tsunade bellowed good-naturedly, smiling, jerking Sasuke and Sakura back to reality.

"Oh, right." Sakura giggled.

She picked up the pen and in her delicate, spidery hand signed for the first time – Uchiha Sakura. Sasuke smirked as she handed him the pen and with a much more practiced hand Sasuke penned his elegant signature onto the paper. Naruto and Kakashi followed, and Sakura wasn't sure she would have been able to tell the two apart except for the huge swirl Naruto drew next to his. Actually everyone in the room tensed when he drew the swirl, hoping he wouldn't continue on to draw the remaining ingredients that formed a bowl of ramen onto the official document. Hinata especially looked like she was ready to pass out. Finally she and Ino signed and the Hokage kicked them all gracelessly out of her office with a huff and a motherly well-wishing send-off.

The procession now made their way to the shrine where Neji and Moegi stood bearing the couple's gifts to each other. Everyone except Kakashi and Hinata, Ino and Hinata's nursemaid stopped at a respectable distance from the shrine and the aforementioned approached it serenely.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "I present you with this gift, in hopes that we will have a long, sweet marriage." she motioned to Neji who sluggishly walked around a pillar and hoisted the cask of shochu over his shoulder, setting it down near Sasuke.

"Nice twist." Sasuke smirked. "I like it a lot."

Sakura smiled. "I knew you would."

Sasuke's smile dropped and again he was serious as he held his hands out to Moegi. "I present you with this gift, in thanks and appreciation for your goodness and... virtue." Sasuke blushed ever-so-faintly, handing Sakura the delicate gift. She unfolded the paper to reveal the stunning obi within, and Sakura gasped.

"Oh my god..." she was speechless. "Thank you."

Sasuke nodded. "It was my mother's."

"Wow..."

Sasuke nodded and Sakura handed her gift to the nursemaid for safe-keeping. The six people proceeded to walk into the shrine and take their places near the Shinto priest. All was quiet but still the priest said nothing and went about giving the ceremonial sake cups to the attendants and the rice bowl to the couple. Finally they all sat looking at each other stupidly, the priest staring at the couple expectantly.

"_Oh, right..."_

Sakura stood awkwardly and Sasuke stood quickly to accompany her. They walked together to the front of the shrine and Sasuke remembered as he saw the incense. They each gathered a few, Sakura got one for each her mother and father, and she watched as Sasuke gathered three, for mother, father and... Itachi? She didn't say anything as they lit the fragrant sticks. Suddenly, a cool breeze swept through the quiet shrine and overhead it sounded as though a hundred tiny bells were ringing.

That's because they were.

The priest smiled finally and motioned for the couple to come back to the area where the ceremony would be held. The old man's face creased with happiness.

"Now that everyone is here, we can begin."

Sakura and Sasuke and Kakashi paled slightly, but soon calmed themselves.

"_It's all a part of the cycle of our lives."_ Sakura thought to herself.

And so, the ceremony began.

XXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX

Finally, it was time for the reception. 1:00. Everyone sat down at the tables arranged in a ring around the fair-sized dance floor in the hall Sasuke had rented. Sakura and Sasuke, flanked by their same four followers, headed a long table at the end of the hall. Gifts were piled all around them and the couple beamed at the party. A plain but elegant cake sat off to the side on a table all to its own. The food arrived and the waitstaff brought out the surf n' turf dinners rapidly. After eating, everyone laughed and 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed as Sakura and Sasuke opened their presents. Ino bought Sakura some nearly non-existent lingerie. Naruto bought the couple ramen, just in case there was an emergency (or he came over). Kakashi gifted Sasuke a beautiful and functional sword, hinting at his ANBU promotion, and to Sakura he gave a scroll that would summon him to her if she was ever in a pinch. Hinata gave Sakura a new set of pots and pans, as well as an apron and some towels, all wrapped separately of course. There were many more gifts, and they took awhile to open. Finally Sakura got Sasuke to really smile though when she shoved cake in his face instead of letting him eat it. Lastly, there were the toasts. Tearful, long, happy, sad and reminiscent, Naruto had so much to say and Sakura cried for most of it. Kakashi was the only one who came close, and he reminded everyone of how Sakura had cried when Haku nearly killed him. It was a strange thing to mention in a toast, but Kakashi was a strange guy. Besides, that really was a defining moment for Sasuke and Sakura, now that they looked back. Never mind, it was perfectly acceptable.

And now it was time to dance.

Ino and Hinata laughed, already sloshed, as they pulled their friend from the dance floor into a side room reserved for Sakura to change. She donned her tea length white dress for dancing and some strappy white heels, and the other girls changed as well. Ino brought a bottle of water and a hair curler and re-did Sakura's hair in a flash. Sakura washed her face too, of course.

Everyone knew it was time to dance when Sakura and Sasuke walked onto the dance floor, him in his suit and her in her strapless gown. Aoba saw them step out and no one had to say anything to him before he started to play a slow song to start the dance off, _As Time Goes By_. Naruto was the first to break the couple up, along with Hinata. They each pinned twenty ryo notes to their respective dancing partners and congratulated them happily, and soon Ino broke in to give Sasuke her five ryo. Kakashi gave Sakura a hundred ryo "_Just for you_" he whispered with a chaste kiss to her forehead. Tsunade showed up from work about this time and stood to the side of the dance floor, sake in hand crocodile tears rolling down into her shirt. Shizune comforted her mentor, benignly patting the older woman on the shoulder while hoisting her pig around with the other arm. Everyone danced long into the night, and no one got hammered except for Ino, but she had Shikamaru to take her home anyway. Sakura and Sasuke finally excused themselves from the party with parting smiles, and they left the cleanup crew and Hinata and Naruto to care for their gifts which would be delivered later the next day to their new home.

Sasuke and Sakura walked slowly, hand in hand, both giddy, scared and excited in anticipation of what was about to happen. Sakura looked over to Sasuke shyly and blushed, looking away quickly. Sasuke smirked, but blushed as well. They gradually retraced the steps they had taken many times together over the last several months, carefully removing their shoes in the familiar genkan and standing awkwardly in _their_ kitchen. Sakura moved closer to Sasuke timidly, and he tentatively wrapped a hand around her waist and lowered his lips to hers. They kissed carefully, and Sasuke ran his hand along her jaw as though she would shatter if he pressed just slightly too hard. Sakura pressed her hands to his shirt underneath his blazer, and he shrugged it off, dropping it on the table. Sakura opened her eyes.

"Not here." she whispered, and Sasuke nodded. He picked her up and she yelped and he carried her all the way to his bedroom, sliding the door shut with his foot. She lay on the duvet, eyes heavy-lidded with her lust and her cocktail dress riding up just so on her creamy thigh. Sasuke smirked again. What a prize he had won! He loosed his tie and tossed it to the nightstand and held out a hand to his wife. She nodded and he helped her up from the bed and they picked up right where they had left off, slowly kissing each other, tasting and feeling each other's soft, luscious lips against the other's. Sasuke allowed his hand to move from her hair down her neck and spine to find the zipper of her dress. Slowly, inch by inch he eased it down and stepped back once it pooled around her feet. He was pleasantly surprised by the underwear she wore. She had on a white strapless bra with pink ribbons laced through the tops and modest, matching panties. Sakura blushed furiously, so different in the bedroom this time around, thanks to her sobriety. Sasuke gently reached out to her breasts with one hand and took one into his fingers' embrace. Sakura made a small noise and closed the distance in between them, cupping his face with one hand and undoing his shirt buttons with the other.

Finally she made her way down to his belt which she undid deftly with one hand. Sasuke smiled down at her and they started to kiss again as he shrugged off his shirt and Sakura loosed his pants to the point where they fell to the floor. Their kisses became more heated and urgent and Sasuke broke away to tug his undershirt off.

Again, they found themselves in only their underwear.

Sasuke began to kiss any part of Sakura's face and neck he could reach, frantically, and Sakura moaned beneath his kisses lustfully, innocently.

"Uhhhn..." He kissed his way down to her collarbone and ran his tongue back up her neck to her ear, which he took into his mouth softly. She tasted so sweet, sweaty from dancing, fragrant and sugary from the cake that had been on both their faces. He moved his kisses back to her mouth and this time their tongues explored each other as Sasuke pushed Sakura down to the bed. Sakura gasped in surprise as she felt his manhood prod her stomach. He was hard!

Sasuke smirked into her mouth and Sakura arched her back as Sasuke freed her breasts from their confines. His hand massaged one breast as he greedily took the other nipple in his mouth without hesitating.

"Sasuke..." Sakura panted.

"Mmmmm." Sasuke replied into her white breast.

"Ohh..."

Sasuke placed a hand tentatively on her thigh, unsure of how to continue. He broke his mouth's hold on her breast but left his other hand where it was. Suddenly they both felt very awkward, Sasuke's big hands everywhere, his knee in between Sakura's legs. Sakura looked at him hungrily and decided to follow her instincts. Without breaking their eye contact, Sakura guided both of his hands to her panties and he obliged her by sliding them off of her slowly, his face paling slightly and sweat breaking out across his body. Sakura began to sweat as well and she kicked the panties off the rest of the way. Lastly, Sasuke removed his boxers and little Sasuke greeted Sakura by dripping his slight wetness onto her pubis. Sakura giggled.

"It's cold!"

Sasuke smiled and experimentally rubbed his hand between Sakura's legs slowly. He soon figured there wasn't enough room for him there and changed tactics, dipping a single digit in between her folds. Sakura shook, and he slowly ran his fingertip from the generic frontal area of her labia to her opening. Sasuke bit his lip and grunted as he pushed the finger into her tight wetness and Sakura moaned slightly, panting. Unsure of himself, Sasuke pulled the finger out partway and pushed it back in. Sakura pushed back against it.

"Uhh, Sasuke-kun..." She threw her head back. No one other than herself had ever touched her there...

Sasuke felt it was early but he couldn't wait anymore. He positioned himself between her legs and she lifted her knees and parted her legs farther so that he could get a better angle. Carefully he pushed against her until his shaft found her crevice, and he sunk into her partially.

"Nhhggg..." he moaned in the back of his throat. Sakura jerked beneath him.

"Ow." She blushed.

Sasuke smiled. "I love you. Just tell me when I should move." Sakura nodded and a few seconds later, egged him on.

"Ok."

Sasuke pulled out and pressed into her a little farther, watching her face the whole time. Four or five thrusts later, he was mostly in and Sakura's tight walls were exerting a tremendous force on his sensitive virgin member. Sasuke lowered himself to his elbows and buried his face into the crook of Sakura's neck, his hand groping her chest wantonly. Sakura wove her fingers into his hair and moaned throatily as he thrust shallowly, slowly into her, struggling to maintain control. Sakura began to whimper as Sasuke felt himself nearing the end and despite his struggle to hold on and fight the suction and warmth in Sakura's core, his balls tightened uncontrollably and with a low groan, Sasuke pushed into her to the hilt, spilling his warm seed into Sakura's dark womb. His member twitched and tightened alternatively within her, and she sighed, not quite disappointed but not quite satisfied. He stayed inside of her for a few more moments, spent. Finally he looked up at her.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura smiled and combed his hair back from his face with her fingers. "Don't worry, we'll get it."

Sasuke nodded, burying his face in her hair again. "Hn."

She placed a hand questioningly on his shoulder and he took it as a sign that she wanted to get up.

"Bathroom." she mouthed.

And so their love was consummated.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Lemon warning. Also, sorry it's short. Short but necessary. Review please! Thanks guys!

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 10: Goodbye_

The next two weeks passed peacefully, uneventfully for the newlyweds. Sakura took the first week off of work and cleaned the large house from top to bottom, taking on the task with happiness as one of her wifely duties. She decided it would need to be done every two, three weeks from then on, considering all of the dust that had collected all over the place in the last few months. Sasuke engrossed himself in his and Naruto's ANBU preparations, helping the dobe study for the written exam mostly. Naruto had lunch with the couple almost daily, and Sakura and Sasuke spent many happy, quiet dinners together. Sakura did most of the talking. And of course, there was their lovemaking. Slowly they were becoming accustomed to each other, comfortable with their bodies and the new sensations they were feeling. Sasuke was gentle, controlled and conscious of Sakura most of the time, and Sakura enjoyed his companionship in bed immensely, although the ultimate pleasure she occasionally felt building in her core remained ever elusive.

Sasuke was changing slowly, however; in nearly unnoticeable ways. He would spend more time alone outside, staring at the pond occasionally, or taking long walks. Sakura simply assumed he had always done these things and she had never known because she didn't live with him before. She knew Sasuke was still a dark, brooding young man on the inside, but as long as she could continue to show him her kindness and shower him with her love as much as he would allow, she thought she could bring some semblance of peace and normality to his life. She assumed for the most part that he had done everything in his power to turn his thoughts from his revenge against Itachi since he never breached the subject with her. She hoped that in taking steps toward reviving his clan, maybe he had even moved on. But she was wrong.

During the second week of their marriage, Sakura returned to her duties at the hospital, giving Sasuke even more time to dwell on his future and his brother. He needed to put the next phase of his plan into effect as soon as possible after achieving ANBU rank. All he needed was to know where his brother was located.

Sasuke sighed.

Being in love with Sakura was going to make this that much harder on him. He hadn't felt a connection or a bond this close with anyone in years, and he hated to throw it away.

Sasuke stared at the water of their small pond pensively.

"_If Shisui and the others are still here, it can only mean that by avenging their deaths, by killing Itachi, their spirits will be free."_ Sasuke reasoned. He wanted to continue this peaceful life with Sakura uninterrupted, but before he could do that those spirits had to find peace, as did his hatred and rage toward his brother. After living in hatred and making revenge his sole reason for existing, Sasuke would make any excuse to convince himself that he was taking the right course of action. Sasuke realized that his plan was flawed, and had been since the beginning, but it didn't hurt until now that he was on the verge of executing it. Now that he had discovered that his heart wasn't the impenetrable ice block he had once believed it to be. He didn't know when the walls had crumbled but they needed to be rebuilt, he told himself. He needed to close himself off from his surroundings and his feelings again he realized as he looked down at his shaking, sweaty hands and felt his throat close with fear and sadness. Before it hadn't mattered.

But now he was afraid to lose Sakura.

He knew that Sakura was the only person who could help him accomplish his number one goal of destroying his brother. He knew there was a huge probability that she would die in the process. But he hadn't counted on falling for her. He hadn't considered that he would actually like for her to carry his children someday. He thought about what Shisui had said to him. More people than just him were counting on Sakura's help in continuing the Uchiha clan.

But as soon as he made ANBU, all of that would have to change. He had lived for that one purpose for so long that there was no abandoning it now.

No.

The walls would have to go up, and he would sacrifice Sakura to get to Itachi if that's what he had to do.

XXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX

Sakura returned later that afternoon from work to find Sasuke in the kitchen eating the bento she had packed him for lunch.

"Hi." Sakura smiled at her husband.

Sasuke nodded, mouth full.

"You didn't eat lunch?"

He shook his head.

"Quiet today, huh?" Sakura muttered as she set her backpack down on the chair. Sasuke didn't react. He couldn't bring himself to be mean to her, just cold.

"_Bad mood..."_ Sakura thought to herself. She busied herself in the fridge gathering various items for miso soup.

"We need to go shopping this weekend."

"Hn. You can go, right?"

Sakura stared at him.

"You don't want to come?"

"I have plans."

"Surely you can take an hour or so to come with me."

"You're a kunoichi. You can take care of yourself."

"_That's not what I meant..._" Sakura thought to herself. _"This ANBU thing is taking a lot out of him."_

Sakura nodded to him and an uneasy silence filled the room. Sakura slowly washed the green onions and drained the tofu in the sink.

"Would you like some soup, Sasuke?" Sakura probed.

He nodded.

"Ok." she whispered, and proceeded to chop up the vegetables and boil the water. She analyzed the feelings she was having. Not subdued, not afraid, more... confused. Usually when she came home, Sasuke would greet her with a kiss on the cheek at the very least. Sakura placed the lid on the pot after throwing the onions into the broth. She sat at the table across from Sasuke in her usual spot.

"Is everything ok?" she asked seriously.

Sasuke nodded. "Just thinking."

"Ok." She looked down to her lap and wondered if there was anything she could do or say to make him smile at least. He was looking so much like old Sasuke that it was disturbing her. They sat like that in complete silence for about ten minutes, and suddenly Sakura rose and went to the stove, mechanically turning it off and pouring their soup, serving Sasuke and herself.

"Itadakimasu." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Together they slurped through more silence. Finally they finished and Sasuke arose, obviously intending to leave the house, probably for a walk.

"Please tell me what's wrong!" Sakura suddenly cried, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. Sasuke stared at her in surprise.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about the whole ANBU business." He looked at her downturned face. She looked up at him.

"Really? That's been in the works for months and just now you're thinking about it so intensely?" She accused. "You look angry to me!"

Sasuke's mouth fell open slightly, but he closed it quickly. "Well, I'm not. I'm about to have a lot of duties and responsibilities to fulfill, both for the village and for you." He tried to look stern. Apparently it worked because Sakura shrunk back a hair. She responded with confidence however.

"Then let's make the best of the times that we will be spending together. We're both shinobi, and either one of us can be called up, either one of us can die at any moment. We have to make the best of our short time together."

Sasuke balked. _"Short..."_ "I'm trying. I'm just worried. Don't badger me about this." his eyes narrowed.

Sakura nodded defiantly. "Fine. Then don't die on me!" She raised her voice as she made her request. It was unreasonable and she knew it.

Sasuke's voice was low as he answered her. "You know I can't promise you that. Don't ask that of me." he walked toward her. _"One last time..."_ he told himself. Sasuke took the miffed Sakura into his arms gently. "Just know," he kissed her forehead, "no matter," he kissed her cheek and saw the tears glistening in her eyes, "what I do," he kissed her lips softly and almost lost himself in the sweetness he was about to shun, "how I seem to be acting..." he ran his fingers through the tips of her silky pink hair and brought his mouth to her ear, "I really do, and always will, love you." Sasuke buried his face in her shoulder and Sakura wrapped her arms tightly around her husband. "Why are you so sad?" Sakura whispered. _"It's like he's saying goodbye..."_ inner Sakura's whisper resounded in her head. "Shh, my love." Sasuke chided quietly. "Please believe me..." he whispered back to her as he fought the sadness welling up in his throat. _"I'm definitely going soft. This has to stop..._" he told himself. _"Just one more time..."_

Sasuke's hormones won over his determination to be cold to Sakura and he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck while kissing her hungrily, yet gently there in the kitchen. Sakura gave in without hesitating, opening her mouth and her arms willingly to her husband. Their tongues danced around each other as their passion increased and Sakura fisted her hand in Sasuke's raven locks, pulling them slightly. Sasuke ran his hand under her skirt onto her muscular ass, gripping it tightly. Finally they broke apart for air and Sasuke's eyes raked across Sakura's pink face, full of desire. Suddenly he picked her up and she threw her legs around his hips, kissing him fiercely again. Sasuke stumbled to their bedroom, eyes closed in his immersion in their passionate kisses and he kicked the door open uncaringly. He threw Sakura onto his bed and leapt on top of her, hand going to the zipper on the front of her shirt. Just as he began to unzip her, Sakura's hands tugged at the hem of his shirt, pulling it rapidly up his back. He stopped her abruptly, pinning her hands to her sides with his forearms and his weight.

"No." he commanded.

"But, Sasuke..."

"No."

He found her wrists with his hands and brought them up over her head, and reaching into his pouch for rope, he tied them there securely. Sakura whimpered.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh. Be quiet." he ordered. Sakura nodded but it was apparent that she was starting to feel a little fearful. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." _"Tonight."_ Sakura nodded in acquiescence.

Sasuke grunted and brought his attentions back to her shirt which he unzipped painfully slowly. Underneath she wore an old, dark blue bra. _"Perfect."_ Sasuke smirked evilly. He flipped a kunai out from it's holster and brought the sharp blade up to the fabric that restrained her creamy breasts. Sakura yelped quietly, and her eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke reached up and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh." He looked her dead in the eyes with a serious countenance.

She nodded slowly under his hand and he removed the obstruction from her face. Carefully, he lifted up the taut band that held the two halves of her bra together and noted that Sakura broke into a light sweat. Goosebumps covered her body as she attempted to lie motionless. With one quick swipe, Sasuke cut cleanly through the material of her bra and spun the kunai around his finger before holstering it again. He smirked up at his wife who was panting wantonly now. Sasuke looked back to his plunder and pushed her bra aside from his treasures. Slowly, firmly, he gripped her perfect breasts in his hands and squeezed them, focusing the majority of the pressure on Sakura's pink nipples. Soon they stood at attention, demonstrating her need for him. He lowered his mouth to one of them and Sakura threw her head back wantonly, moaning. The other breast he continued to massage as he licked and sucked at her nipple. When he was sure she wasn't expecting it, he bit the extrusion softly, knowing that she would definitely feel his teeth coming into contact with the sensitive bud. Sakura yelped and tried to pull away from him, but there was nowhere for her to go with the mattress behind her. She groaned.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke smiled into her soft mound, and with a hard suck, abandoned one breast for the other. He repeated the process on the opposite side, waiting until her nipple was engorged to the max before nipping it lightly several times. With each small bite Sakura's back arched harder and she writhed beneath him, groaning and whimpering for mercy.

She was melting in his hands.

Sasuke smiled and trailed kisses down her ticklish abdomen which rippled and tensed with her quiet laughter, and he kissed all around her belly-button and down to the hem of her skirt. Sakura suddenly realized his intentions and held her knees together tightly.

"Sasuke, please, no..." she pleaded.

He looked up at her.

"Yes." There was no room for argument with that tone.

Sakura was horrified, but there was no escaping the tie nor the situation that Sasuke had masterfully trapped her in. Sasuke dipped his hands into the top of her skirt and into her shorts and panties as well and pulled them all off in one neat bundle, exposing her moist sex to the cool air in the room. Sakura struggled to hide herself from her husband by clenching her thighs closed but he would have none of it. With a gentle but strong pry at her knees, he spread her legs so that he could admire her womanhood. Sakura blushed fiercely and turned her head to the side.

Sasuke grinned and lowered himself onto his elbows, pulling her closer to his face. The sweet scent of her juices and sweat mingling in between her legs was irresistible, and although he longed to take her right there and plunge his straining cock deep into her slick channel, it couldn't be helped, he would have to wait. Tonight, Sakura was going to get hers if it killed him. Sasuke licked his lips and tentatively stuck his tongue out to lap daintily at her folds. Kami! She tasted sweet and creamy and earthy all at once, and the taste went straight to his head. He buried his tongue deep into her lower lips and she moaned as he found her opening. He traced it with his muscle but it was too soon for that, he left her missing him. He knew what he was searching for and he wouldn't stop until he had found it and thoroughly tortured his wife.

Sakura tried to buck her hips as he moved his tongue farther and farther up her slit, weaving it sideways and in small circles as he searched for the elusive nerve bundle. Finally Sakura stilled, paralyzed, and her breaths came rapidly just as he felt something tiny, like a little blister, rub up against the side of his tongue and he diverted his attention to it. However, the fucking thing was very slippery, and every time Sakura moved, it seemed to escape him. He knew he was causing her intense pleasure by the way her hips bucked every time he succeeded in running his tongue up the side of it, so he made an effort to still her hips by grasping them firmly with his hands and pulling them onto the mattress.

"_There."_

He ran the flat blade of his tongue up the length of her pussy and located the bud again, but this time it would not escape the determined Uchiha. He stroked and lapped alternatively at it, closing his lips around it and applying slight suction to the area. Sakura moaned and thrashed her head from side to side and he noticed that her legs were trying to clench around his neck to kill him.

"_Good."_

Sakura started to moan instead of pant, and Sasuke could feel the slight twitches of her kegals on his lower lip.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke..." She chanted with increasing volume.

"Don't stop, right there, oh my god..." Sakura tensed suddenly and her hips tried to lift off of the bed with tremendous, unexpected force, and Sasuke nearly lost it but held on for dear life. His mouth and tongue were sore but dammit she was so close...

"Aahhhhhh!" Sakura sighed and screamed at the same time. Sasuke held on to her bucking hips and slowed the motions of his tongue carefully, and suddenly he realized he could feel her muscle spasms under his lips. He stopped licking but remained in contact with her.

"GODDAMNIT, SASUKE! SASUKE-KUN UNNGGHHH!" Sakura cried and rode the orgasm to the end, with clenched teeth and fists. Her eyes were screwed shut as she breathed deeply through her wide open mouth. Finally she came down from her high and Sasuke carefully and slowly disconnected himself from her sensitive bud, but he knew he needed to act quickly to take advantage of the moment. He rapidly drew another kunai and sliced through her bonds, then threw the knife into the floorboards. Sakura immediately pulled his shirt off and he assisted her, and he stood and in one swift motion removed his own pants and boxers together. His hardened penis sprung forth and he brought Sakura's entrance to his hips and plunged into her. One thrust, two and he was in to the hilt. He leaned over her and kissed her deeply as they moved together in a steady rhythm at the hips. Sasuke plunged into her over and over, her slick walls so tight now it actually took substantial force on his part to push into her. Sakura trailed her sharp fingernails across his back, scratching him and finally digging into the pale skin on his lower back. She moaned in ecstasy as he pushed into her and her hips rose to meet his every time. She had no problem keeping this pace, but soon it wasn't enough.

"Faster, faster..." she panted.

Sasuke obliged and now there was no point in her moving except to hold the right angle for him. Sasuke pounded his dick into her slit mercilessly, and Sakura let out a long moan as he felt her muscles tighten around him even more.

"_Just a little longer!"_ Sasuke threw his head back as he fought the urge to give in to his orgasm and a few well-timed thrusts later he felt Sakura's muscles flutter around his cock.

"_Now!"_ he plunged forward once more as Sakura screamed his name again, suddenly gripping his ass tightly and digging her nails into the soft flesh there. Sasuke grunted as he found his own release inside of her, and Sakura's muscled tightened and spasmed around his shaft violently, milking him of every ounce of semen he possessed. They stayed like that for what felt like a full minute, Sakura still pressing him into her as hard as she could and breathing rapidly. Finally Sasuke collapsed onto her chest, and Sakura wrapped her arms gently around him.

"That was our best yet." she murmured. "It was so good." she kissed his head. A sweaty Sasuke rested silently on her bosom.

"_I'm sorry, Sakura."_ Sasuke whispered in his own foggy mind, and he fought to keep control over the tears that threatened to spill at any moment.

Sakura never noticed as she drifted to sleep under him, a comforting hand on his back.

XxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Sakura awoke the next morning to an empty bed. She lay there quietly for awhile, probing the house for sounds of activity. After hearing none, she dragged herself out of the warm bed and to the bathroom, where she proceeded to take a quick shower and brush her teeth. She wrapped her hair up in a ponytail and decided to grab something to eat before going shopping. As she walked into the kitchen she noticed a note on the table and picked it up.

_'Going training with Naruto for two days. ANBU exams on Monday morning. See you then. Love, Sasuke'_

Sakura shook her head with a small smile.

Those boys were crazy.

XXXxxxXXXxxxxXXX

Sasuke needed some time away from Sakura to clear his head. When he was near her it was as though he had no control over himself, over his emotions nor his hormones. If this continued, then soon his destiny would be in her hands too.

"_Goddamnit."_ Sasuke grimaced outwardly as another one of Naruto's punches connected.

"What's wrong with you? Or am I just getting that good?" Naruto grinned widely.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled, launching himself at his opponent violently.

Really, there was only one way for an Uchiha to vent his frustrations, and this was it.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Sorry again for a short chapter. It's picking up, I promise. Enjoy.

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 11 : Cursed_

Sasuke and Naruto emerged from the low ANBU HQ building victoriously clutching their new uniforms. Naruto ran to Sakura, nearly bowling her over with a huge hug, then going off on a detailed explanation of how he got his tattoo. Sakura smiled warmly and hugged him back and listened attentively to his descriptive discourse. Sasuke stood to the side of his friends, watching. A small smile graced his features, but by the time Sakura turned to him it was gone, replaced with a stoic countenance.

"Congratulations, Sasuke." Sakura's smile still shone brightly. She took a step toward him and put her arms around him slowly. Sasuke wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks."

Sakura looked up at him and placed a kiss on his cheek. He didn't reciprocate, but he couldn't help himself when the corners of his lips twitched upward in another faint smile.

"Let's eat!" Naruto whooped.

Sakura and Sasuke broke their embrace and followed Naruto to Ichiraku, hands joined loosely. Sakura reveled in the warmth Sasuke's big hand offered. She had missed him.

"I missed you." she murmured.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

Sakura's face fell. _"He's probably got a lot on his mind..."_

The trio arrived at Ichiraku and ordered their favorites, and Naruto started up again.

"Two weeks of boot camp, in the Forest of Death! As if we weren't strong enough already!" Naruto grinned widely, curling his hand into a taut fist. "This is gonna be a blast!"

"Except for the no outside food part, dobe." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto yelled, "Why do you think we're here? I'm gonna eat for the month!"

Sakura grinned at him. "I don't care what they say, you're still an idiot!"

"Say it again!" Naruto jumped up.

Sakura followed suit, cracking her knuckles. "Hah, with pleasure. _Idiot_."

"Shut. Up." Sasuke barked.

The two old friends blinked, and Naruto sat back down, genuinely disappointed. Sakura smiled smugly, turning to her ramen. For awhile, the predominant sound was that of Naruto's messy slurping.

"When will they send you guys on your first mission? Will you even be together?"

Naruto spoke in between bites across Sasuke, who was diligently shoveling noodles. "Yeah, we're on a team. I guess they send us in two weeks. They said there's never really peacetime for ANBU, but there's more work when there's a war."

Sakura's eyes widened. "How often will they call you up?"

"Whenever we're needed." was Sasuke's robotic response.

"_That's probably what he's upset about!"_ Sakura thought to herself, believing herself an expert in the science of Uchiha psychoanalysis. _"Yeah, crazy pre-and-after-mission sex!"_ cheered Inner Sakura. Sakura blushed outwardly, and Sasuke cast a sidelong glance at her. She immediately became occupied with drinking the dregs of noodles out of the bottom of the up-turned bowl. Sasuke snorted softly, derisively.

Naruto ordered seconds.

"I'm not sitting through your ramen binge." Sasuke stood.

"Come on!" Naruto pouted at the Uchiha heir.

"No." Sasuke shrugged coldly and Sakura hurried to give Teuchi their payment. With a 'thanks!' she turned, waved to Naruto and jogged a few steps to catch up to Sasuke.

They walked in fairly comfortable silence to the house. If one ignored the silence it didn't bother one as much. Sasuke trudged into the house and tore off his shoes. Sakura followed him closely and peeled off her own. Sasuke made his way towards the door but Sakura stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

Sasuke threw her an annoyed glance over his shoulder. "Cutting the grass."

"Ok." Sakura nodded. _"Even though we're married, we spend so much time doing things alone... it's weird..." "Can't spend every waking moment of the day together..." _Inner Sakura chided.

Sakura sighed, standing. She looked around at the kitchen. Clean dishes gleamed on the rack. The floor shone, even though some areas were a little scuffed. She knew their bed was neatly made and the laundry hampers were nearly empty.

There was nothing to do, at least until dinner.

Sakura wasn't the kind of girl to sit on her hands while others worked. She had the whole day to herself since she had anticipated some sort of celebration. Sakura had half a mind to return to work for the remainder of the day, but instead she turned to the cabinet and climbed onto the counter. She grabbed huge glass jar from the top shelf and filled it with water, throwing in a few teabags. Sakura smiled and lugged the heavy jar out onto the porch, setting it in the sun. Sasuke was bent over in the yard, swinging his machete low to cut the grass. Sweat glistened on his muscular back, and the hair at the back of his neck stuck to his nape in wet spikes. He was about an eighth of the way through. Sakura hopped down into the yard and started to pick up the loose grass behind him, setting it into a pile.

"It sure is hot today!" Sakura offered brightly.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"Is there something else I can do to help?" Sasuke paused in his work and in anticipation of his next comment she clarified, "The house is clean." Sasuke turned to her.

"This is a one person job."

Slowly, Sakura nodded. "I guess you're right. Well..." she trailed off. Sasuke turned away from her and continued hacking at the obstinate grass. "I guess I'll go back inside and... read something..." Sakura spoke half to herself. Sasuke still remained focused on the grass. Sakura turned around and as she stepped up onto the walkway she heard Sasuke curse.

"Shit!"

She heard the machete hit the ground. In a flash, she was by his side.

"It's nothing." Sasuke stuck his finger in his mouth.

Sakura couldn't hardly believe her eyes. The sword wielding shinobi had made the most basic mistake. His finger had extended up over the quillon of the large knife and he had clenched down onto the blade with the appendage.

"How did this happen?" she breathed incredulously.

"I got distracted." Sasuke looked at her darkly.

Sakura shook her head. "It happens." she responded generically. "Give me your hand."

He slowly extended it to her and she took it into her own calloused ones. A soft green glow emanated from her palms and filled Sasuke's hand and arm with a tingly warmth as her chakra invaded his own highway.

"_Why does this have to be so fucking difficult?"_ the young man thought to himself angrily while keeping the bitter, stoic mask up. Just when he had finally been able to distance himself from her she found new ways to invade his personal space.

"Stop moving..." Sakura murmured. "One more sec... there. All healed."

Sasuke jerked his hand out of hers as soon as the words left her mouth and her chakra left his wound. Sakura stared at him open-mouthed, hands still up. Sasuke immediately felt his gut twist.

"Sorry..." he muttered, trying to turn away from her.

"Sasuke." Sakura spoke authoritatively. "What is your problem?" her hand shot out to his shoulder and he let her turn him to face her. Each heartbeat felt like a pang of guilt to Sasuke. He struggled to look her in the eyes impassively, but Sakura saw the emotions swimming in his dark irises. "You have to talk to me. To touch me. To communicate with me. _I'm your **wife**_." she reprimanded. _"Ok Sakura, not the best strategy to get Sasuke to talk to you..." _Inner Sakura warned. _"When has all that following your heart bullshit ever helped you gain headway with this guy?"_

"_This I can respond to."_ Sasuke told himself. His face seemed to darken minutely and his gaze on her hardened and intensified. Sakura's hand dropped off of his shoulder, he had succeeded in intimidating her. "I thought we were supposed to touch each other." His hand shot out to her wrist and he gripped it hard. Sakura bent her elbow to avoid the oncoming pain, but he only gripped her wrist tight enough to scare her. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his wife. "I don't have to do _anything_." He threw her wrist from his grasp carelessly. Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Yes, you do, Sasuke!" She raised her voice after regaining her bearings. "Remember?" she felt those damned tears stinging the back of her throat. "To love and cherish?"

"Don't you raise your voice to me!" Sasuke's own voice echoed forcefully throughout the courtyard, louder than hers, and he took a step closer toward Sakura. She stepped backward shakily but held her head high even as her chin trembled.

"Why are you hurting me?"

"I didn't hurt you." a brief flash of shock flew across Sasuke's face before he could stop it.

"Yes, you did." Sakura choked out, now the tears were threatening to fall. _"I won't cry, I won't cry..."_

Sasuke couldn't take it. He turned around and started to walk away from her. "Well, I didn't mean to." he said softly, just loud enough for her to hear.

Sakura's tears spilled down over her face as she watched his retreating back and her hands clutched her shirt over her heart as she clenched her teeth, holding in the sobs that shook her torso.

Sasuke swallowed hard, painfully, forging ahead despite his blurry vision. _"Damn her. Damn her to hell."_

Sakura stood in the courtyard for a moment after Sasuke left, and when she was sure that he was out of earshot she reflexively dropped to her butt and hugged her knees close to her chest, crying loudly into them, the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Why?" she choked out to the seemingly empty yard. She covered her face with her hands. "Why do I feel like such a failure?" she whispered to herself.

Sasuke had made it to the retaining wall around the complex by then. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at it for a moment, eyes tracing the crest that was painted there. Suddenly he punched it, breaking the skin on his knuckles against the stucco, leaving a small dark red smear behind.

"Goddamn you, Itachi! Fuck you!" he kicked against the wall like a child. "I hate you!" he roared. "Come fucking get me, I'll kill you right now! Let's get this over with!" Sasuke screamed at the sky, chest heaving with each angry breath. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides. The only response he got was a lone crow flying high up over the complex soundlessly.

"Dammit." he whispered, hanging his head and closing his eyes. Slowly as he calmed down, he realized it was getting cold. _"Cold? It's still August..."_ Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he felt a chill on his shoulder and a shock of cold run down his spine. He looked to his side, feeling like a fool. Inches from his face, Shisui stood with a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and a serious face.

Sasuke exhaled as he leapt away from the figure, but Shisui just walked toward him, ever steady despite his cousin's rejection. Sasuke crouched.

"Leave me alone." he spat.

Shisui kept coming. "No." he stopped just a few feet away from the young man. Sasuke stood slowly.

"What do you people want?" he spat bitterly into his cousin's face.

Shisui frowned.

"What did you do to Sakura? She's crying. Everyone can hear her. You two are the only ones here."

Sasuke frowned as well. "I didn't do anything." he ground out.

Shisui shook his head. "And that's why you're here yelling at Itachi."

Sasuke groaned. "I can't believe I'm even talking to you! I'm freaking losing my mind! This is ridiculous!"

"Oh, believe me Sasuke," Shisui neared his living relative. "This is very real." Shisui's sad eyes met Sasuke's. "I wish it wasn't. For many reasons. But right now, I wish I didn't have to see you hurting the one person who holds all of the clan's hopes." Shisui's eyes bored into Sasuke's.

"The hope of the clan!" Sasuke snapped at him. He tried to bat Shisui's ethereal hand away as the ghost began to extend it, but he simply passed through it. "You people haven't changed! I'm the last Uchiha!" his breath hitched. "_I'm_ the hope of the clan!" he yelled. Shisui shook his head again.

"No, Sasuke... no you're not. Not anyway, yet..." Shisui's image slowly faded from Sasuke's vision. The young ninja stood staring into the darkening street incredulously as though something would appear at any moment.

"Dammit!" he threaded his fingers through his hair, pulling it lightly and sat on his heels. _"What now?"_

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxXXXX

Sasuke returned to the house hours later. After running a few laps around the village, he felt he had worn himself out enough to where he could face Sakura without running the risk of getting angry at her again. The kitchen was dark and empty, but Sasuke could smell bread. Sakura must have eaten a sandwich. Sasuke wasn't hungry, but his stomach was sore from his upset earlier. He tread silently through the house to his room, and opened the door to find the place a total disaster. In the middle of it Sakura lay across the bed, tangled in the sheets, obviously sleeping. Sasuke almost couldn't believe his eyes. His and her clothes were strewn all over the floor. Kunai and shuriken littered the place. Scrolls on the walls were either askew or had hit the floor entirely. There was even a tear in the open shoji that led to his closet. He thought he could faintly hear dripping water, so he activated his sharingan and leapt cautiously across the room. Light spilled across the floor as he opened the door to the adjoined bathroom and he was greeted by a chilling sight. Water dripped into the bathtub, and condensation coated every surface in the bathroom, but that didn't upset him. What did was the blood in the tub. With every drip of the faucet the watered-down liquid quivered and rippled and Sasuke found himself glued to the sight, frozen. Soon, the water began to churn and the rushing in Sasuke's ears was overwhelming. He was terrified. He vaguely wondered how Sakura could sleep through this. Suddenly he saw something white float briefly to the surface of the water and his next intake of breath was sharp. The object floated up again and this time it moved. It was a hand. Slowly, agonizingly, a forearm became visible. Sasuke was frozen in place, breaths fast and shallow, and he couldn't take his eyes off of the arm as it threw itself over the side of the tub. With its painted fingernails and effeminate bone structure, he recognized it immediately. Yet he still could not move. Blood dripped down the pale fingertips, pooling on the tile floor. Finally a figure heaved itself out of the bloody, churning water and the rushing became a roar in Sasuke's ears. Itachi's soaking wet, blood-covered form slouched over the edge of the tub limply, but he slowly moved and supported himself on the edge of the tub with his hands. His stringy, tangled hair was mostly matted and tangled, some stuck to his face, streaming across it and the rest of his dangled in thin wet strands, dripping.

"Otouto." He gurgled, raising a hand to Sasuke, pointing two fingers at his brother. Suddenly, Itachi began to cough violently, yet he didn't cover his mouth. Blood dribbled down his chin and red sputum shot out of his mouth onto the floor.

Finding his voice suddenly, Sasuke screamed, stumbling backwards. Behind him, he heard Sakura's shrill cry as she awoke to the sound of his terror. He heard her padding up cautiously behind him, muttering.

"What the fuck happened in here? Sasuke-" she stopped behind him. "Oh my god." she breathed, covering her mouth. "Oh my god!" Sakura's voice shook. Sasuke opened his eyes, he had never noticed that he had closed them in the first place. The bathroom was still covered in blood, and red handprints adorned the sides and edges of the tub but Itachi was nowhere to be seen. He turned slowly to look at Sakura. She was shaking violently and she looked very pale. Her breaths also came rapidly, and he realized she was going into shock. He looked down at his trembling hands and tried to steel himself.

"S-Sakura..." he whispered.

Sakura's wide eyes met his.

"We can't sl-sleep here..." Sasuke gulped. Sakura looked horrified at the mere thought of going back to sleep. She merely nodded her head in agreement and pulled at her sleeping shirt restlessly.

"I'm scared!" she whispered and suddenly she burst into tears, throwing herself at Sasuke. "Don't leave me alone again!" she cried.

Sasuke hugged her hard. "I won't. Not tonight." He looked back at the bathroom and it was back to its pristine state. However, his stuff was still thrown all over the room. He finally got the sense to check his chakra. _"No genjutsu..."_ He tried to think. The only other places to sleep were Itachi's room, _"NO!" _and his parents' room. Sasuke sighed shakily. _"So be it."_

"Come on." he patted Sakura's shoulder. "Let's go." he prodded. She looked up at him and he nodded reassuringly. Slowly she disentangled herself from him and they walked carefully back across the room, picking their way around shuriken and other dangerous objects. Sasuke led them to the double doors and just as they reached them, a slight wind picked up, whistling around the corners of the house and through some distant windchimes. A shiver ran up and down Sasuke's spine as he extended a hand to the shoji. Slowly, he slid it aside.

Inside, the room was as empty as ever. Moonlight cut across the middle of the room through the window. The same chest stood in the corner, quietly inviting the young couple to unroll the futon it contained. With renewed confidence, Sasuke strode over to the chest and did just that. He realized at this point, this room was far more welcoming that his own. Maybe they'd just stay here. He sat down on the soft surface once he was done making it up and motioned for Sakura to join him. She reached behind her blindly, as though she didn't want to see if there was something there and closed the shoji, then ran to the futon and leapt in, curling against Sasuke's side and screwing her eyes shut. Sasuke definitely couldn't resist holding her close to his heart as he too was frightened out of his wits.

So much for resting up before going to boot camp.

XxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Sasuke and Sakura ventured into his room early the next morning, before he needed to leave for training. He and Sakura quickly gathered up all of their necessities and Sasuke bravely ventured into the bathroom for their toiletries. They dumped everything into a pile in their new room. Sakura promised to organize it later, after he left. They went to the kitchen together to share a last breakfast before Sasuke's two week training. The pair sat down to the cream of wheat Sakura had made.

"I think I'll take the night shift at the hospital while you're gone."

Sasuke nodded. "Good idea."

Sakura spooned up some more of the sweet breakfast food. "I'm sure I'll be fine during the day here." she offered bravely. Sasuke nodded again. "If you need to stay with Ino or Hinata or something while I'm gone, I understand."

Sakura swallowed. "That won't be necessary." The couple ate in silence for a few more minutes.

"Well, I think I figured out your secret from before!" Sakura laughed shakily, mirthlessly. Sasuke sighed, tired. "I should have told you, Sakura."

"No. I understand why you didn't."

"What did you see?"

Sakura looked at him, wide-eyed in her surprise at his blunt question. "You think we didn't see the same thing?"

Sasuke shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know. How can I?"

Sakura looked down quickly. "Right... Well, I don't want to talk about it. But I'll tell you." she paused. "There was, uh... a lot of blood. All over. And in the tub. And then it was gone."

"Ok, me too." Sasuke lied. A few more moments passed. He poked at his gruel with his spoon. "Do you want to leave?"

"Are you offering?"

"No."

"Then I'm staying right here." Sakura declared assertively.

Sasuke looked at her with disbelief, then smiled vaguely. _"And that's why I married her."_ The young man stood and scooped up his backpack from the chair next to him.

"Take care." Sakura looked worried.

"I will." Sasuke assured her as he pulled on his shoes.

"Ittekimas."

"Itterashai."

Sakura smiled sadly and waved from the door as Sasuke walked away from her down the street.

She closed the door and leaned against it with a shaky sigh.

"_Here we go."_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 12 : Closure_

Sakura made her way back to the complex a few mornings later. Getting used to the night shift was difficult, and although she loved her work, she felt like taking some time off sick. Good thing it was finally Saturday. It was about 5:40 in the morning, the sun was just coming up, and the village was still quiet except for the occasional shinobi's footsteps thrumming across the rooftops overhead. Sakura turned down the road that led to the complex and a pang of dread hit her stomach. She was still recovering from the frightening incident a few days ago, and had yet to even clean up Sasuke's old room. She sighed... She'd need to clean his room, they might even need to use Itachi's room in the future when they eventually had kids. Sakura's hand instinctively twitched toward her belly as she thought about it. She still wasn't pregnant. The fact surprised her, since she was fairly regular with her cycles and hadn't been sexually active before marrying Sasuke.

"_Maybe that's exactly why..."_ she pondered to herself. By now she had reached the front door of the house, which she slid open with bated breath. All was normal. She sighed again, relieved. She dropped her backpack on the floor by the genkan and started to fix herself some breakfast. She sat down to munch on her granola and yogurt parfait. Sakura looked around. The place was pretty clean, but there were a few things to be picked up and then she should probably clean Sasuke's room.

"_I might want to clean Itachi's while I'm at it."_

Sakura frowned at the thought of the elder Uchiha appearing out of nowhere as she rifled through his belongings.

"_It needs to be done." _she reminded herself. _"Sasuke isn't going to do it."_ Sakura smirked at the thought.

She stood and dropped her cup into the sink. Drying her hands on her skirt, she walked out onto the sunny walkway, energy renewed. She turned to Sasuke's room and bravely swept the shoji aside. The room was spotless. Sakura's eyes darted around the room and her mouth dropped open. Her and Sasuke's few clothes they had left behind were folded neatly on the bed and her husband's kunai and shuriken were arranged neatly on the comforter as well. She padded into the room quickly and grabbed the tools, stowing them into her own kunai and shuriken pouches. She scooped the clothes into her arms and ran out of the room, sliding the door closed with her foot. Once she made it to the master bedroom, she stood in place, breathing hard.

"_This should not be happening."_ Sakura shook her head. _"I can't believe this place is haunted. We should burn some incense or something."_ Sakura had no idea how to deal with the entities she could not see. _"Maybe I could try talking to them..."_ she supposed as she hung Sasuke's shirts in the closet. As soon as she finished, she steeled herself and stepped out onto the walk. She felt stupid as she looked around the sun-bathed area. She had no clue what to say or do. She looked to Sasuke's door. All quiet.

Sakura took a deep breath, and her voice rang in her own ears, causing her to jump slightly.

"Hey!" She barked. She started again, a little less brusquely, yet still her voice commanded the attention of all those within earshot. "I hope you can hear me. I'm Sasuke's wife and I'm in charge now, so leave us alone." She paused for nearly a full minute. No response. "Well, as you can see, we have everything under control, so we don't need your help, ok? Umm..." _"What now?"_ "Thanks." she blurted idiotically. She looked around, feeling fairly foolish. The quiet gurgle of the pond filter droned on as usual, and not even a breeze upset the peace. Even though she felt stupid, somehow she felt as though she'd accomplished something. She smiled faintly. _"Hopefully things calm down some now."_

XXXXxxxxxxXXXX

Mikoto sat on the roof with her husband. They were watching the pink-haired kunoichi run nervously around the house.

"As usual, overdid it again, Fugaku."

"Hn." he grunted noncommittally.

"Look at her! I think you went overboard with all of the blood."

"She's a kunoichi, isn't she? And a medic at that."

"Blood at work and unexplained blood at home in the middle of the night are two very different things." Mikoto tried to educate her husband.

"You can have both. Look at Sasuke."

"Yes, just look at him."

"Hn." Fugaku glanced at his wife. Even now, in their frustrating predicament she was beautiful, with her long dark hair and... eyes flashing with annoyance. Nothing the former head of the Uchiha clan couldn't handle. Mikoto looked away from her husband, exasperated but accepting. What good would fighting do her? The Uchiha boys always seemed to get their way.

The pink-haired girl was standing shakily at the door to their room again. "Poor thing. You should have let me talk to her."

Fugaku shook his head slightly. "Shisui couldn't get through to Sasuke."

"She's not Sasuke..." Mikoto murmured.

"Hmm." Fugaku paused. "Maybe-"

At that moment Sakura began to speak.

"Hey!"

The girl sounded upset. Mikoto wondered who else was in the house. She hadn't noticed anyone come in.

"I hope you can hear me."

_"Oh, she's talking to __**us."**_

"Yeah, we hear your annoying voice all the time." Fugaku muttered. Mikoto shot him a dirty look.

"I'm Sasuke's wife and I'm in charge now, so leave us alone, ok?" Her bright green eyes scanned the walkway, searching for some form of response.

Fugaku laughed darkly, "As if we could. Looks like having Shisui talk to Sasuke did absolutely nothing. She still doesn't know."

"Of course. Sasuke doesn't trust himself, much less his wife."

Fugaku smiled blandly. _"Of course, she's right as usual. Uchiha women..."_

"Well, as you can see, we have everything under control so we don't need your help, ok? Umm..." the kunoichi's eyes were darting around the walkway again, searching for an answer.

"Thanks."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow at her. _"Thanks..."_

The girl stood there for a full five minutes after her performance, five minutes throughout which Mikoto and Fugaku watched her intently.

"I should talk to her."

"You think she'll respond to you better than Sasuke did to Shisui? Look at you. Look at me." Fugaku stood over Mikoto. Blood soaked his clothing from his solar plexus on downwards, and his face was pale. He turned to go and she could see the hole in his yukata where Itachi had run his father through with the thin, sharp sword.

Mikoto knew her once beautiful, elegant image was tainted with a similar wound, but she was determined. She raised her chin in defiance.

"Yes, I think she will. I won't subject her to any unnecessarily bloody images."

_"So much snarkier in death..."_ Fugaku turned his head to look at his wife. He smiled. "I'm not stopping you."

Mikoto's face lit up in a bright, real smile. Suddenly, Fugaku's eyes widened and his happy face fell as he looked over her shoulder.

"She's going to clean Itachi's room."

Mikoto sprung to her feet. "We have to stop her, she'll die!" The dead woman exclaimed turning to see the girl trudging determinedly, frightened to Sasuke's brother's room.

"Quick, help me!" Mikoto leapt down in front of the girl. "It's no use, there's no time! We have to disable the traps!" Fugaku's commanding voice stopped his wife in her tracks, and immediately she darted into the dark and dusty room through the shoji as Fugaku purposely fell through the ceiling. They worked to cut through as many wires as possible, trying to keep handfuls of senbon and kunai from piercing their daughter-in-law. But there just wasn't enough time. Luckily, Sakura was not as brave in throwing open the door as she had been with Sasuke's. Sakura also was not stupid. She tried to slide the door slowly, but when it wouldn't budge, she sent some chakra into the wall to try and see what could be holding it in place. It was then that she realized there might be traps set, any room worth locking must contain something worth protecting. As soon as she sent her chakra in, a senbon flew through the paper, hitting her in the leg.

Fugaku looked over at Mikoto. "Sorry." he mouthed. _"Getting rusty..."_

Outside, Sakura withdrew her chakra and winced, rolling out from in front of the door. Mikoto stepped out onto the walk alone. The senbon had pierced Sakura's gastrocnemius muscle, on the inside of her calf.

"Shit!" She hissed, and immediately she drew her knee up to her chest and gripped the long spike with her hands. Steadily, slowly so as not to cause any more damage, Sakura pulled it from her leg, biting her lower lip all the while. She quickly infused her muscle with chakra.

"I should get Sasuke to help me with this..." she muttered. "Freaking' s-class, family-killing, trap-setting criminals... should be dragged out in the street and beaten to a bloody pulp..."

"That's my son you're talking about. And I was just starting to think you were such a sweet girl." A slight smile played on Mikoto's lips.

Sakura's head whipped upward toward the sound of the voice.

"Aaahhh!" Sakura screamed and hastily stood, nearly falling down during the process. She backed away from the figure.

_"Fugaku is probably laughing right now…"_ Mikoto frowned. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here because of Sasuke. If he'd just told you like we'd wanted him to this wouldn't have happened. And… I'm sorry about the whole bathroom scene. You can thank my husband for that."

Sakura froze, dumbfounded. "Your… husband?" She faltered.

Mikoto nodded. "I suppose you don't know who I am?" Sakura shook her head no. "Of course. I am Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mother."

Sakura's eyes seemed to widen further, if possible.

"Oh."

Mikoto tried again to smile, to put the girl at ease. "I know I'm not looking my best..."

Sakura looked the woman over quickly. Her once white apron was blood-soaked from the waist down, and the woman also sported a huge gash around the back and side of her neck. Sakura could imagine the woman's back and long hair were drenched in the sticky liquid as well. The pinkette tried to relax.

"_It's not as though I don't deal with death and blood on a daily basis."_ she told herself.

"Ok. So there's something you need to tell me?" she braved.

Mikoto nodded and her smile got a little brighter. She motioned for her daughter in law to follow her, beckoning with a wave of her hand. Hoping not to startle the girl, the ghostly woman turned around slowly, giving Sakura time to adjust to the striking scene. She heard the girl gasp behind her; after all, Itachi hadn't made her death pretty nor painless. Nonetheless, the girl followed her to the kitchen.

"Would you like a snack?"

Sakura was startled by the mundane question. "Uh, no, I'm fine."

"Something to drink then? Tea?"

Sakura nodded, sinking heavily into her usual chair. Mikoto busied herself with heating up water and retrieving a teapot and cup.

"Never really thought I'd have the chance to talk to you like this after what happened, I'm glad for the opportunity."

Sakura nodded more. "I'm glad to meet you too." _"In a strange, morbid way…"_

Once the water was put on to boil, Sasuke's mother glided over to Sakura and sat in Sasuke's usual chair.

"_Interesting..."_ Sakura smirked.

"What is it?" Mikoto smiled warmly at the girl.

"Ha. It's just that Sasuke always sits there."

"Well he would, so did his brother."

"Oh." Sakura's face fell.

"It's in the past." Mikoto imparted simply.

Sakura fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "What was Sasuke supposed to tell me?"

Mikoto sighed and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. Sakura looked up, startled as goosebumps formed on the back of her neck. "Is something wrong?" she offered shakily, looking quickly at her mother-in-law's pale face. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Sasuke was supposed to tell you... Sasuke..." Mikoto's voice broke and her face wrinkled sadly, but there were no more tears left for her to cry.

"What happened?" Sakura was worried now. If Sasuke's mother was getting upset about it, it must be important. "Please tell me."

"More like what hasn't happened." Mikoto laughed bitterly, wiping her face reflexively. "I don't think I can tell you the details-" she paused, composing herself. "But I can tell you as much as Shisui told Sasuke, you are the hope of the clan." Mikoto looked at the flabbergasted kunoichi seriously. "If anyone can bring honor back to our clan's name, it's you." Sakura failed to find an appropriate response.

"Are you serious?" she whispered.

Mikoto nodded. "I should leave..." Sakura stood and strode over to the stove, glancing back over her shoulder at her new friend. "No." Sakura insisted, flipping the range off with a click. She turned back to face her mother-in-law. "I need to know what happened to Sasuke. Why he is like this. I need to know what happened the night Itachi left. Maybe then I can be of some help." It was Mikoto's turn to be shocked.

"You can't be serious! Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?"

"No, and that's precisely the problem!" Sakura sat back down on her chair, leaning eagerly toward the spirit. "You may be the only person who can take me back to that night and show me what it is that's been tearing Sasuke apart for the last fifteen-odd years!"

"No, no, no..." Mikoto shook her head, face in her hands. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." Sakura could feel the temperature drop again, and this time she associated it with Mikoto's state of upset.

"Please don't be sad." Sakura put her hand out, only for it to pass through the semi-opaque figure. "I just want to help him." Sakura fought back her own tears. "I've been trying to help him since I met him. Please, show me."

Mikoto slowly lowered her hands from her face and looked at the determined young woman before her. Never did she imagine that the girl would go this far for her son. After some careful deliberation, she finally nodded. "Come with me." Mikoto stood and Sakura followed her out of the kitchen into her and Sasuke's bedroom. She pointed to the chest.

"Take out the futon. You'll need to lie down."

Without hesitating, Sakura did as she was bade and settled herself on the cushion. "What now?"

"Not so fast. I can't do this for you. Just a minute." Mikoto closed her eyes and reached out mentally to her husband. With a gentle stirring of the air in the room, Sakura's eyes widened again as the smoky figure of what must have been Sasuke's father materialized out of thin air.

"H-hello." She stammered.

Fugaku merely nodded, mouth turned down into a frown. He looked from the girl to his wife. _"I told you so."_ She could see it in his eyes.

"Get Shisui please." she whispered.

"This won't end well." he asserted, yet he still reached out to the boy. Fugaku was the only Uchiha that could reach out to any other Uchiha in that plane of existence. As the head of the clan, he was the only Uchiha that had shared a bond with each and every clan member in life.

A third figure materialized in the room, a friendly-looking young man, and Sakura's head was beginning to hurt. She wanted to stand to say hello to these new people but it was just too much. She merely looked at the wet, blood-covered boy, bewildered.

"Hello Auntie and Uncle. Can I help you with something?" The boy smiled good-naturedly, looking at Sakura all the while. He walked over to her without hesitating and crouched to her level, balancing on the balls of his feet. This young man strangely reminded her of Sasuke and Kiba all at once, with his quiet, noble air and his capable, carefree way of carrying himself. "Nice to meet you, Sakura." The young man grinned. _"Ok, more like Kiba."_

"H-hi." She stuttered again.

Mikoto sighed behind him. "She wants to see _that night_." Shisui frowned.

"Are you sure, Sakura? It's awful." his black eyes looked deep into hers.

"Yes." she whispered, afraid.

Shisui nodded. "I'm the only one who saw it all happen, front to back. I was already dead, you see." he mentioned his passing casually to her.

Sakura nodded in response. "Ok."

"Lie down." Shisui whispered. She obeyed, staring at the ceiling. "Close your eyes." the soft command came close to her ear. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she tried to regulate her breathing. "Perfect. Now, relax." Sakura concentrated disjointedly on each different muscle, focused on loosening any tension she felt in her body. A few minutes later, Shisui must have been satisfied with her efforts. He whispered in her ear again, "Alright, Sakura, you know the feeling of falling in a dream, falling endlessly? The jerk behind your navel and the way your breath catches and freezes in your chest? Imagine that in just a moment, imagine you are falling through the futon, through the floor, down into nothing." she heard the smile in his next words. "Don't worry, I'll catch you." Sakura exhaled profoundly in response. Finally she felt she was ready, on her next exhalation of breath she imagined the feeling and the action of falling when still, from the inside, and the next thing she knew, she was lying in Shisui's arms under the house. He was kneeling in the dirt, smiling.

"You hardly needed any help. Don't be frightened, you'll be jerked back to your body if it gets to be too much."

Sakura nodded. "What's this?" she ventured, her own ethereal fingers tracing a thin, silvery cord that led up into the house.

"That connects you to your body. You're not dead yet. You're just having what meta-physicists like to call an 'out-of-body experience'." he grinned. "You're lucky! If it wasn't for your perfect chakra flow, we might never have pulled this off!"

Sakura finally let go of her fears and laughed. It was easy when you were being held and comforted by Shisui Uchiha. "Cool!" she moved to stand up and Shisui steadied her the whole time. Her head and shoulders popped up through the tatami. She looked up at her mother and father-in-law.

"Oh!" Sakura looked down and decided to jump onto the tatami, and as soon as she deemed them solid, they were and she landed on them lightly. "Can I touch you?" she looked to her new parents excitedly. Mikoto's tinkling laugh echoed throughout the room and she held her arms open to Sakura who leapt into them. "I'm glad I met you." Sakura breathed in the woman's scent joyously, she smelled like soap and lilies. Mikoto smoothed her pink hair. "Me too." Sakura pulled away and faced her father-in-law.

"Hug?" she offered open arms to him. Fugaku eyed her for a moment in a very Sasuke-like stance, then uncrossed his own arms and gave in.

"I guess it'll be my only opportunity." he grumbled. His big arms enveloped the thin girl in a warm, firm embrace. He smelled strikingly similar to Kakashi minus the musty dirty laundry smell. Spruce and faint whiskey, or oak, and of course, kunai and shuriken cleaning solvents. Something like that. She smiled, vaguely remembering her own dad. It had been a long time since she got a hug from someone other than Naruto. Finally, they separated and a faint, fatherly smile graced his features.

"You'll need that." he assured Sakura. "Itachi was brutal to Sasuke. He killed us fairly quickly, but it was not easy for our youngest. With Shisui's ability, you will see it as Sasuke saw it." Sakura's eyes widened slightly in fear but she fought the tug at her belly-button and set her mouth in a determined line. "If Sasuke lived through it, then so will I."

"_He barely made it. If only you knew..." _Fugaku thought, but he nodded instead. "We are leaving. Go with Shisui."

Her in-laws turned and after Mikoto threw her one last reassuring smile, the pair vanished without a trace. Sakura turned to Shisui.

"I'm the only one who roams the complex freely. Everyone else is tied to someone or something, most can't leave their own homes. Until Itachi dies, I'm stuck here in the complex though, so I guess that's not much better is it?" he smiled. "Eternally waiting for my cousin." he laughed.

Sakura smiled. "Ok, let's go then." she extended a hand.

Shisui maintained his smile. "Not necessary. Look at my eyes."

"_Of course."_ Sakura thought, and she obeyed him, placing all of her faith into him. "I hope this works, never tried using the sharingan after dying..." Shisui muttered, and Sakura saw the faint blue of his chakra begin to spin at his center of gravity. _"Ghosts have chakra?"_ she was surprised but there was no time to react as the chakra shot up to his eyes which glowed blood red at her own, and she felt herself crumple to the tatami as his gaze remained trained on her own eyes. As soon as her soul's eyes closed, new ones were awakened in her subconscious and she felt an incredible happiness coursing through her heart as she ran home from school.

"_I can't wait to see what 'Kaasan made me for dinner! I hope she saved me some! And I hope 'Tousan isn't too mad I'm late..." _she heard the words run through her mind and felt a slight trepidation in her belly at the thought of Fugaku upset. The she realized that she was not only seeing the events unfold as Sasuke had seen them, but she _was _Sasuke. _"Oh, shit."_ This was going to be horrible. Sakura thought about giving up right then. But the reason she couldn't leave here no matter how much pain or fear she felt was because of Shisui's mangekyou. _"This is for real."_ Sakura was horrified. But there was no escape.

Young Sasuke turned down the street to his house happily toting the cloth that contained his bento and sprinted down the street to the gate. He pushed on carelessly, happily, but his pace slowed as she felt the thoughtless confusion mounting in the back of his mind. _"It's dark. Where is everybody? Why is it so dark? Why is it so quiet? Is it really late? 'Tousan is going to be mad if it is. I should have come home earlier. Why is it dark? What's-"_ the body she was in froze as he looked down from his distracted thoughts to something soft that his little foot had run into. Sakura felt the uncontrollable panic and confusion fill her head as Sasuke looked at the ground. An older woman with her short hair in a ponytail lay lifelessly at his feet and blood had long since pooled under her and dried. The acrid stench of refuse barraged her nostrils and she couldn't help but notice how empty the older woman's open eyes looked.

"Auntie?" she heard Sasuke whisper. There was a pounding in her ears, Sasuke's breaths were coming hard and he dropped his bento. He looked up and around from the chilling sight. "Uncle? 'Kaasan? 'Tousan?" he started to jog, and his heart pounded harder and harder, sinking painfully into his gut with every new body he discovered in the street, they were all sliced up, every one of them. Some carried more wounds, signs of a fight. Sasuke continued to call for his family as he stumbled along the road that seemed to go on for an eternity, and his vision was blurred by the frightened tears he was shedding. Suddenly she felt a prickle on her neck and Sasuke turned to look over his shoulder just as suddenly. Nothing but the full moon greeted his searching eyes. He was almost home, she recognized the neighborhood, and she could feel the worry and intense fear increasing even more as Sasuke's guts churned. He ran through the house until he stood outside the doors to his parents' room. Sasuke threw them open and darted in, then stopped in horror at the sight that greeted him. Sakura was reeling from all of the sights and sounds and from the terror that coursed through her soul. She felt that she couldn't take any more, and Sasuke felt the same way. Along with Sasuke, she was forced to look to the sweet people she had just met as they kneeled solemnly on the floor. Itachi, evil and proud, stood behind them, sword drawn. She felt herself scream in her head along with Sasuke. She felt the pain rip through her chest as he screamed for his mother and father.

"Itachi! Don't! Stop it! Stop!"

Itachi mercilessly swung his sword through their spines and their blood splattered across the floor. Sasuke held his head, shaking, screaming. Sakura screamed and cried to herself in her own mind. The pain was too much. She was breaking. Sasuke was broken already.

"Foolish brother." she heard the words but couldn't pause in her pain to process them. "You are not even worth killing." it explained so much, but she couldn't concentrate on anything but the rage and helplessness she felt with Sasuke. "If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way." the pieces were falling into place and Sakura's soul felt like it was tearing apart with the pain of Sasuke's little one breaking under the strain of his brother's heavy words. "Run and cling to life. And then..." Sasuke's breathing hitched, and she realized he was crying now, purely afraid, ready to flee. "When you possess the same eyes as me, face me." Itachi opened his eye and a chill ran through Sakura and just as Sasuke thought to step back, he froze and... she saw the ground rushing to meet them, Sasuke had passed out.

A deafening whooshing noise opened her own eyes and she felt herself falling, twisting, it was so dark and then she was kneeling by Shisui whose hand rested on her back. The tears poured down her face and her breaths came so quickly, wheezing in her vocal tract, and finally she gripped her head as hard as her disembodied hands could and mashed her face into the floor, screaming. Immediately she felt a hard tug behind her navel and she reached out to Shisui, struggling to hold onto him, desperate for any form of comfort, but it was over and she was alone, sitting up on the futon, now crawling across the floor, collapsing face first onto the tatami that she knew had been only recently replaced, screaming wordlessly into the mats. Her fists clenched and her throat was getting sore, but she couldn't stop.

This pain... it was too much to bear.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Mikoto sat in the kitchen with her husband. She looked to him sadly, haunted.

"_I remember when Sasuke would scream like that. Burdened. In pain."_ she thought to herself.

"Just like Sasuke..." she whispered.

"You overdid it." Fugaku muttered sadly.

"I know." Mikoto vanished, to spend some time alone presumably.

Fugaku just shook his head.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 13 : The Great Gig in the Sky_

Sakura sat in the dark kitchen, the grey light of the coming dawn just illuminating the outlines of the appliances and dishes in the room. Her thin hand clutched the warm teacup tightly, but her face stared out the large window listlessly. Sakura had been reliving the night of the massacre over and over every day for the last six days. She could hardly sleep, the daymares would wake her and there was no chance at resting after that. Actually, she couldn't stop thinking about it even during the nights when she worked. She was traumatized. Out of pure force of habit she had been cleaning the house and bathing herself, but she did little else. Plain yogurt was about all she could stomach these days.

_"I've got to get it together, for Sasuke."_

She'd been telling herself this all week, but to no avail. How to get over the things she had seen? It was a horrible nightmare, but it was also very real and inescapable. It seemed as though the spirits in the complex were giving her space to process the information her brain had received, but in all honesty she would rather have had Mikoto or Shisui there to talk to.

_"But this is what Sasuke went through. He was alone, too."_

She had been telling herself this over and over as well. How could a little boy bear this alone? Surely Sasuke was the strongest person she knew. Sakura mechanically took a sip of the cooling tea. It might has well have been cold water for all she felt and tasted. She could understand now why Sasuke detested sweets, the mere thought of the gooey, solid texture of dango in her mouth and grainy red bean paste made her want to gag.

_"I need to get past this so I can help Sasuke."_

Sakura tried again to look at the memory rationally. She mumbled aloud to herself, trying to piece it together.

"Sasuke loved everyone. He was so happy and friendly. Everyone he loved was brutally murdered." Her voice cracked and she covered her forehead with her free hand. "He watched his own parents die in front of him, and their murderer challenged him to a last fight to the death. His brother, no less. No, Sasuke won't let this go until it's truly over, whether he dies or not."

Maybe the observation seemed obvious, but it made her realize that no matter what she did, all of her efforts were in vain. Sasuke was tainted. She could never free him from the destiny his brother had assigned him. In a strange way, it took a load off of her shoulders. But it was replaced with an even heavier one, that she would bear together with Sasuke to the end. Now she understood. She was Sasuke's hope for life after Itachi, and she was the Uchiha's hope for a better clan. Yet she still couldn't figure out why Itachi had done it. She had met the man and she knew - it wasn't just to test his own strength. There was some underlying reason that eluded her, underneath the underneath.

Sakura gathered her bearings and downed the remainder of her now cold, tasteless tea. Time to try to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Naruto walked back into the village, side by side, packs a few pounds lighter. Naruto's face looked a little more serious than usual, but it still held most of the boyish joy and brightness he was known for. The boys trudged down the quiet streets silently, tiredly. The sun was just peeking up over the wall and the village took on a pinkish grey tinge.<p>

"Still glad we finished the test in record time." The blonde yawned.

"It was expected of us."

"Pretty much." Naruto nodded. "I'm going home. I'll catch you later." Naruto waved to his friend.

Sasuke nodded and stepped away from his partner, setting his feet on the road to his house. Sasuke's feet crunched along the dirt roads and soon enough he was standing in front of the familiar front door. He slid it open, forcing his shoes off with his own feet and abandoning them tiredly in the entryway.

"Tadaima." he whispered to himself. There were a few water droplets on the ledge by the sink. Sakura must have just been there. He turned to the table and stared at it for a bit. Finally, he pulled off his sword and turned to the door leading to the walk. He unclasped his vest and yanked it off of his torso as his padded toward their new room. He slid the door open quietly and dropped the items on the floor, then pulled off his sleeveless shirt and dropped it there as well, glancing at Sakura occasionally. She looked a mess. Her body was splayed across the futon and sweat beaded on her forehead. Her hair was sweaty too. He walked over to her silently and knelt, looking at her face. There were faint bags under her eyes and she looked just a hair thinner than she had the last he saw her. Sasuke fought the urge to caress her face, and contented himself with staring.

After a few moments, Sakura stirred and her lips moved. Sasuke unconsciously leaned forward.

"No... no, please." Sakura murmured, lips hardly moving. Her nails dug into the futon. "No... Itachi don't..."

Sasuke leapt to his feet and felt the rage boiling up from the pit of his stomach. _"Itachi? How dare you, you... you whore!"_ he was ready to wake her up and see what the hell she was talking about, whispering restlessly in her sleep. Then he heard more. Sasuke held his breath, hardening his face.

"_We'll see what this is all about. Then, I'll show you what happens when you cross me!"_ an unstoppable, hateful voice railed on in his head. His muscles tensed as he clenched his fists in his jealous anger and he leaned forward again, standing over the sleeping woman.

"Itachi..." Sakura whispered. Sasuke's eyes widened incredulously. She turned her head away from him, but he could see the tear stains on her cheeks. "How could you, Itachi? No, no, NO!" she screamed and woke herself up with the sound, muscles tensing. She stared at the ceiling, breathing hard. Then she sensed Sasuke's presence. Sakura slowly turned her face toward him, the tears rolling down the side of her face and over the bridge of her nose. "You're back early." she whispered. "You look angry."

Sasuke realized his fists were shaking.

"What happened?" Sakura sat up and gingerly wiped her eyes. They still hurt from crying, all the salt was wearing her skin raw.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" he spat. "What the fuck happened to _you_?" In one swift movement he straddled her and gripped her shoulders tightly, sharingan blazing. "What were you dreaming about?" he snarled in her face. The waterworks started again.

"Sasuke why are you angry with me? What happened?" she shook in his hands from fear and sadness and she hiccuped through her bout of crying.

"That's exactly what you're going to tell me!" Sasuke was shouting now. "Where is Itachi?"

"I-Itachi?" Sakura whispered. Understanding flashed across her face. "Oh."

Sasuke pulled her closer to him. She turned her face away. "Don't you dare, don't you even think about it! Look at me!" he yelled, grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to face him. "Look at me!"

"You're hurting me!" Sakura cried.

"I don't care!" Sasuke bellowed. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Let me explain!" Sakura yelled hoarsely.

"That's right, bitch. That's exactly-" he grabbed a fistful of her hair "what you're going to-" he stood and pulled her up by her pink strands and she yelped "do!" he barked angrily. "Sasuke stop!" she pleaded, grabbing his wrist and trying to fight his grip. He pulled her all the way down the walk to the kitchen despite her struggles and he threw her roughly into her chair. Sakura couldn't stop crying and slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself in a gesture of self-preservation.

"Now, tell me!" Sasuke slammed his hands onto the arms of the chair, leaning over Sakura. "What the fuck happened while I was gone? I leave you alone for less than two fucking weeks and I come home to this? You're in bed moaning about my goddamned brother? What did you_ do_?" Sakura struggled to regain her bearings, but it was difficult with a very angry Sasuke threatening her.

"I'll explain..."

"You already said that!" Sasuke yelled in her face.

"Please! Stop it!" she yelled.

Sasuke stood and cocked his hand back. "Don't you fucking raise your voice to me Sakura!" Sakura saw it coming and raised her arms quickly to block the blow, but it never fell. Sasuke was shaking in his anger but he froze and finally curled his hand into a fist and slowly brought it to rest at his side. His sharingan faded to black. He was still seething, but he was quiet now. Sakura slowly lowered her own guard as she sensed his anger recede slightly.

"I- I met your m-mom." she hiccuped, sniffing.

Sasuke's head drew back in shock and his lips loosened from their angry line.

"I met her and your dad and Shisui." the words poured out now. "I saw things..." she wiped her face but the tears still came out even though her eyes were closed. Sasuke started to feel bad.

"I never saw Itachi I swear." sobs wracked her torso again and he heard the rough edge to her voice now. She had been crying for some time. He noted how red her eyes got as soon as she started to cry again and also realized that they were raw from the action. _"Damn."_ Sometimes his temper caused him problems just like this one. It was different with Naruto and Kakashi though. Sasuke shook his head slightly and turned from her, striding across the room and sitting easily on the counter in her favorite spot.

"What happened?" the inquiring words came from him softly this time, although the adrenaline from his outburst still coursed his veins causing his hands to tingle.

Sakura stood up slowly, shaking. "It was... horrible..." she struggled to keep from crying. "It must have been – hic – horrible for you." she walked slowly to him, testing the waters. When he didn't move she slid slowly in between his legs and wrapped her arms around him. Sasuke wracked his brain trying to decipher her cryptic words as his hands clenched around the edge of the counter. Sakura's hot tears wet his chest. _"... Horrible for you. For me?"_ Sakura whispered to him, "I know you can't let it go. Now I know... now I know... I might not understand but I know." she rambled. "It hurts so much. You..." she relaxed against his torso. "You must be in so much pain." Then it hit him like a punch to his gut. _"She knows."_ He realized what she had seen and he jumped down from the counter abruptly and pulled her into his arms silently.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." he whispered.

"I didn't want you to find out like this." she responded quietly.

"When did it happen?"

"Saturday."

Sasuke squeezed her tighter. "You made it through the week?" he murmured into her hair. Sakura nodded slightly. "Barely." she whispered hoarsely. _"Me too."_ he thought.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered awkwardly. _"How will that even work?"_

Sakura looked at him with her red-rimmed eyes. They were dry now. "I don't know what to say."

Sasuke nodded. He let her go, but reached for her hand as it neared his. "Come on." He led her slowly back to the bedroom and helped her back into the futon, covering her. "I'm sorry I called you... those names." he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Sakura nodded as an outward sign of her acceptance of his apology but in her heart she was still hurting from his actions. Her mouth moved before her brain could stop it.

"It's ok."

"Thanks."

Sasuke sat on the side of the futon quietly as her eyes closed. They stayed like that for a few minutes and Sasuke thought about all of the different ways he might have reacted. But he knew that he _couldn't_ react any other way than how he did. It just wasn't in him.

"I can't sleep." Sakura mumbled. Sasuke brushed some stray hairs from her face.

"Sometimes I can't either." Sasuke's heart lightened with the admission. He clenched his teeth in response to the alleviating sensation.

"I don't know what to do. I feel so sad. I feel alone." Sakura whispered tiredly. Sasuke didn't respond, he just sat there. _"You're not alone."_ he thought, but he would never say it.

He was past that.

"Now I know there's nothing I can do to save you." Sakura continued. "All I can do is bear. And I know what you will do..." she drifted off. Sasuke's mere presence was calming to her, although he had now introduced a new facet to their relationship, Sakura was not hurt deeply enough so as not to trust him – yet. Sakura thought about what Sasuke had done, what he had been about to do to her.

"_It must have been a fluke..." _she thought just before drifting off.

Sasuke frowned as he watched her fall asleep. He'd very nearly lost all control. Would he really hit her? He didn't want to think about it. But he couldn't help himself when he imagined it. Sakura crying out under his hand. He bit his lip. That would be bad.

What with all of this 'hope of the clan' nonsense.

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke later, alone. Her first thought was of how dark it had gotten. Her second thought was of Kakashi.<p>

"_If he ever does anything weird..."_

Sakura sighed and dragged herself out of bed, straightening the blankets but not putting away the futon. Chances were, Sasuke would be using it shortly anyway. _"No use it talking to Kakashi. I'm sure this was a one-time thing. He'll just overreact anyway."_ Satisfied with her conclusion, Sakura decided to shower and put on some real clothes. She did so quickly, and half-ran to the kitchen. Sasuke was eating a sandwich there.

"I thought you'd left!"

Sasuke shook his head, mouth full.

"Would you like to go out? I don't want to be here right now."

Sasuke shook his head again.

"Ok..." Sakura's face fell. Not that it had been overly happy before. "I'll stay with you then."

"Ok." Sasuke accepted her offer quickly.

Sakura put her purse down on the table slowly and walked over to the fridge. _"All dolled up for nothing."_ she felt stupid wearing her nice jeans and having done her hair, only to hang around the house with the prince of assholes for the rest of the night. She grabbed some yogurt and sauntered over to the silverware drawer. Plopping down in her chair and peeling off the foil lid of her snack, she sighed. Sasuke looked over at her, annoyed. She spooned her yogurt quietly.

"You could help me clean Itachi's room."

Sasuke shot her a disgusted look. _"What the fuck is wrong with you?"_

"Well, it needs to be done!" Sakura complained, exasperated. "There's all kinds of traps. I got hit with a senbon while you were gone."

Sasuke almost didn't believe her. "You went in there alone?"

"Nope. Didn't even get past the door." Sakura stuck another spoonful of yogurt in her mouth.

"Way to go." Sasuke didn't even think before he said it.

Sakura opened her mouth, then thought better of her snarky comeback. Instead she just finished her yogurt.

"Never mind then." she muttered as she walked out into the yard.

Sasuke let her go.

* * *

><p>Weeks went by. After their confrontation the day that Sasuke came home, Sasuke and Sakura just weren't the same. Sakura had hoped that she would come to some sort of epiphany about her husband, but instead she had only succeeded in hurting herself. Granted, she did discover a few things. But it wasn't anything that Naruto couldn't have told her and she realized that a few days later. There was nothing like realizing that the village's number one idiot had figured out Sasuke years before her, and the steps she had decided to take to get to come into a deeper understanding of Sasuke weren't worth the heartache.<p>

Sasuke was as cold as ever now, hardly speaking with her. Sakura decided after that day to keep on the night shift. They almost never saw each other, save for a few hours in the morning, and those hours were sparsely peppered with sporadic, brief trysts. Mostly Sakura fell asleep straight away when she came home. Sometimes they would have pointless arguments about stupid things like who moved the chair and why wasn't the counter clean. Sasuke would occasionally stab at her with his condescending remarks as well. Sakura just plain wouldn't respond to that treatment, which ended whatever conversation they were having.

They weren't even friends anymore. The passion was gone. Sakura felt more and more alone, and she tried to make herself believe that she liked it. Sasuke missed his wife more and more, but the pain of pushing her away lessened with each day until he found he was as unfeeling as ever. He was safe behind his wall again.

Sasuke and Naruto continued on their random missions during this time of course. It was winter now, and so much easier to hunt down the criminals they were often sent to kill or capture. People generally didn't like to go out into the driving snow if they didn't have to. Naruto put up with Sasuke's incessant hunting as well. He understood, and had known for years that someday this was where Sasuke wanted to be. Now that he was finally in a position to potentially find his brother, Naruto knew Sasuke would do it. And that was how they had ended up in the situation they were in.

Their target sat slumped against the wall at the back of the alley. Sasuke stood over him, sharingan spinning slowly, and Naruto covered his back. The man they had been looking for was a particularly well-known underground crime boss named Kazao, and it had cost them a lot to get him where they had him now. Naruto and Sasuke had killed several ninja and more than a few civilian grunts to get to the man. If they had just killed him like the mission scroll said to, they wouldn't be hanging out in a cold, dark alley waiting for the bastard to wake up while watching out for his lackeys' potential attacks.

"Wake up, dammit!" Sasuke kicked the man none too gently. The mob boss groaned. "Oh, so you are awake." Sasuke murmured maliciously, sinking to his level, crouching. "Let's get to the point. You tell me everything you know about the Akatsuki or I'll cut your fingers off, one by one." Kazao looked at Sasuke fearfully.

"You wouldn't dare. I've got connections. I'll have you killed." the trapped man panted.

"Really?" Sasuke smirked. "Then, tell me, with all of your connections, do you even know my name?" the target blanched.

"It's Uchiha Sasuke." he held his hand out to the man who took it slowly, scared out of his wits. Sasuke shook it briefly, but grasped the man's middle finger as they pulled apart. Kazao shook, trying to squirm out of Sasuke's iron grip. Sasuke smiled. "Nice to meet you." Sasuke flicked the kunai he held in his other hand upwards in a flash, and in a split second he held the man's severed finger in his hand. Kazao screamed bloody murder and Sasuke threw the appendage into the snow like trash.

"Shh." Sasuke's hand darted out and grabbed Kazao's ring finger. Naruto looked over his shoulder. He hated this but it was Sasuke's way of getting information. Kazao had done worse things to people for sure, whole families of people, and Naruto was sure his hired lackeys had done worse yet. At best, Kazao deserved what he was getting. At worst it was pointless torture, but at least he would die at the end. Sasuke's kunai went to the joint at the base of Kazao's finger. "So, what do you know?"

Kazao panted. "You're going to kill me anyway, aren't you?"

Sasuke chuckled deeply. "You're no dummy!" he scraped the razor edge of his kunai along the underside of the man's hand lightly, drawing blood. "Yes." Sasuke affirmed seriously. "You'd do well to cooperate. I'll make it quick if you do. If not, I have ways of drawing this out. And trust me, no one will find you or rescue you."

Kazao nodded. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you everything I know. You're Sasuke Uchiha? You're looking for Akatsuki? Or for someone in particular?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _"So he knows? Word travels fast. Leave it to Naruto to leave the one fucker he feels sorry for alive. Friends. Fucking idiot."_ Sasuke mentally slapped his forehead. The dobe even got to him with his infectious friendliness sometimes. _"Oh well."_ Sasuke effortlessly plunged the kunai through Kazao's second finger, severing it rapidly. "You don't know me. Don't make this personal. And if you know something, spill it now." he spoke just loudly enough for Kazao to hear over his cries of pain. Sasuke pulled Kazao's hand roughly from where he cradled it in his bosom and pried another finger loose of the lopsided fist the mobster was trying to make. The kunai went straight to the base of the next finger, this time with the application of a slight pressure.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kazao blubbered. "Itachi Uchiha! The sick guy? That's who you're looking for?" he hoped against hope he was right. Sasuke's jaw hardened at the mention of his brother's name. _"Sick? This is going to work out better than I thought... There's one loose end, tied off."_ "He was last seen in Waterfall with that Shark guy. They took out a bunch of my guys and took off with a bunch of information they were trading." Kazao blurted. "They took the guys too, bounty hunting probably. I don't know anything else, I swear!"

Sasuke smiled again. "Ok. But just to be sure..." he slowly pressed the razor sharp weapon halfway through Kazao's finger. The civilian yelled hoarsely. Sasuke wiggled the blade in the wound. "Are you sure you don't know anything else? Anything else that might help me find Itachi? That sounds like old information you're giving me. At least by a couple of weeks. There's got to be something more recent. Maybe you sent some of your guys after those two to try and get back at them for killing a few big shots in your organization?" Sasuke could feel the tendons snapping under his kunai. The finger would come off soon. Naruto did his best to ignore the two. No one was around for blocks anyway, at least no one who cared.

Kazao whimpered and Sasuke sensed the shift in the man's spirit. He was finally broken. "Ok, last thing, I swear, really truly." Sasuke nodded, halting the movement and the pressure of the blade. The man gulped. "He and the fish guy split after delivering the bodies to the checkpoint and collecting the cash. That was when they split up." he repeated nervously. "We sent guys after them but they didn't get very far 'cuz the douchebags disappeared. The Uchiha guy was headed toward Whirlpool last I know. That's all. I don't know anymore." the desperate tone in Kazao's voice told Sasuke he was telling the truth.

"Thanks." Sasuke smiled, dropping the man's hand. Kazao smiled waveringly for a moment as Sasuke rose and turned away and then, with deadly accuracy and speed, Sasuke drew his sword and it slashed into the man's throat and across his chest, neatly slicing into the criminal's main artery. The blood spurted; one, two, three, then gushed out of the wound in a thick river. Kazao gurgled and Naruto finally turned around. The two ANBU watched the man until no more blood ran out, then checked for genjutsu and for injuries as per standard procedure. Sasuke ignited the body with a katon jutsu and the pair leapt to the rooftops.

"Got what you wanted?" Naruto muttered. "You look happy."

Sasuke smirked, eyes flashing. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>Sasuke arrived home two days later to find his wife in the kitchen. He was bursting with the information he'd gleaned on his latest mission but he couldn't share this with Sakura. Not directly anyway. Sakura was busying herself with the simple task of boiling soba noodles.<p>

"Hey, Sakura-chan." he sidled up behind her. "I have a proposition for you."

Sakura nodded. "Uh-huh. What is it Sasuke?" she sounded distant, and tried to look occupied. "I'm cooking."

"It's soba." he kissed the nape of her neck.

"I'm not in the mood." she sounded irritated. _"Annoying."_ Sasuke thought. But he needed her to play into his hands.

"I'm serious." he straightened. "How would you like to take a vacation?"

Sakura dropped what she was doing and looked at Sasuke as though he'd grown another head.

"Why?"

He hadn't been expecting _that _response. "You look tired. I know we're having problems." Sasuke tried to look contrite. Apparently it worked. Sakura nodded grudgingly.

"True." she kept her response clipped. _"Apparently she isn't ready to discuss those problems."_

"Where did you have in mind?"

Sasuke smiled. "It's very nice in Whirlpool this time of year. It's summer for them, you know."

Sakura was shocked but at the same time she was very pleased. "Are you serious, Sasuke? I can go to Whirlpool?" her face brightened considerably.

Sasuke nodded. "I'll give you some spending money."

"Thanks!" Sakura threw herself at Sasuke and he caught her in his arms, surprised. "I hope we can patch things up when I come back." Sakura spoke into his shirt.

Sasuke gave in and held her tightly. _"I hope so too."_

Within a few days, Sakura and Ino combined had spent almost 50,000 ryo getting Sakura's summer things in order. Tsunade also had a mission for Sakura, a plant-gathering one, since there weren't any other medical leaf ninja in that area and Whirlpool was prime ground for a particular plant with pain-killing properties, true willow trees didn't grow in Konoha. Sakura had smiled and kissed Sasuke on the cheek when she left and Sasuke had remained silent, stoic, choking on the painful knot in his throat. He waved as she took off down the road out of the village to the next civilian town where she'd hop on the train.

Sasuke really hoped she'd come back.

He'd miss her if she didn't.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 14 : As I Walk Through the Valley..._

The dry, cold scenery of Fire country in winter flew by as Sakura sipped from her water bottle. The train ride to Waterfall would take four days, followed by a two day boat trip down to Whirlpool. She couldn't wait to get there. She was utterly bored. She stared out the window, feeling restless. Usually lush and green, the temperate Fire country was stark during the wintertime. Dry grasses waved in the breeze, and naked trees spanned the landscape to the horizon. Occasionally a half-frozen river would interrupt the panorama, but it passed as soon as it was noticed like a stranger on the sidewalk. Sakura turned to her small compartment. It was rather plush, for a train compartment, complete with a small table and her own private lavatory, it was the 'deluxe' suite, and Sakura smirked to herself. Lavish indeed, the above mentioned were all of the deluxe accommodations that were afforded to her. She thought about turning back to her favorite novel, but she had read _Fire of Will_ cover-to-cover more than once in the last few years. She stood, gathering up the book and stuffed the dog-eared paperback into her pack. _"I don't really want to start crying right now."_ She smiled devilishly as a couple of packing scrolls rolled aside exposing a flash of bright orange and red. She thought fondly on the benefactor.

"_You might get bored."_

"_I'll never be that bored, Kakashi."_

"_When did you kids lose respect for me?" he had grumbled._

_She had playfully slapped his arm._

"_I'm serious, you can borrow it. It's a one of a kind." Kakashi's eye had twinkled fondly, looking to the paperback he extended to her._

_Grudgingly, she had taken it from him. "It'll probably sit in the bottom of my pack for the entire trip, but if it'll placate you, I'll take it."_

_Kakashi had smiled. "Maybe it'll help things between you and Sasuke."_

Sakura frowned as she fingered a worn corner of _Icha Icha Paradise_. She hadn't counted on his exceptional observational skills.

"_I see you guys. It must be rough, living with him. Don't forget that you have friends if you ever need to talk. Or beat someone up." His eye had crinkled._

"_Everything is fine!" She had exclaimed playfully, hitting him again, but inside she had been so worried. He was onto them. 'Underneath the underneath' he had once said._

Sakura sighed and nestled her back into the soft seat on the train, cracking the book to the first page. It was signed by none other than the famous Sannin, and Jiraya had scrawled his dedication shamelessly on the title page of the book.

"_To my number one fan, my number one student and the number one closet pervert, Hatake Kakashi. Thanks for keeping an eye on all the sexy Konoha babes while I was gone. Keep on breaking hearts for me. Signed, The Great Toad Sage, The One And Only Great Jiraiya-Sama."_

Sakura harrumphed. _"Gawd."_ She turned the page only to be greeted by a detailed color illustration of a dark-haired, tan eyed woman in a revealing gray yukata, her enormous breasts popping out of the garment. She was winking and blowing a kiss at Sakura. _"Real original, Jiraya. She looks just like Tsunade. But with dark hair."_ Sakura snorted and turned the page again, skimming through the story. Once she got past the cover smut the story was actually quite intriguing, if embarrassing at times. Finally, with all of the strain that traveling was putting on her, Sakura's head bowed and _Icha Icha_ fell between her legs as she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Finally the scenery was changing as they traveled farther south. The landscape gradually got greener as they traversed Grass and finally they crossed the border into Waterfall. It was as though she had finally found paradise. Sakura could hardly imagine that Whirlpool was more beautiful yet, although it went without saying that she relished the thought. The change in altitude brought an overall ease to her demeanor as well, as Sakura found her body effortlessly absorbing oxygen from the rich air. The humidity did things to her hair, but she wasn't there to impress anyone anyway, she figured.<p>

"_I'll check in with Konoha as soon as I get to Hamamatsu."_ she drummed her fingertips along the windowsill. Tall, vine-covered trees spotted the region and there were plenty of low bushes and slender saplings in the dense mix of vegetation to complement the forest. Still pools dotted the area as well, and large rocky outcroppings were visible near the horizon. More than once, she caught sight of a majestic, misty waterfall tumbling over the edge. Occasionally she'd see a colorful bird or two and she gazed in wonder at the big, bright flowers that caught her attention. She wondered vaguely if there were any medicinal uses for them, and if they had been discovered. Her herbal knowledge was limited, if she needed something she'd usually just look it up. She decided then and there that she would devote some serious time to enhancing the area of her field where she found herself lacking. Around three it started to rain furiously, however; there was not much else to see from the fast-moving train car anymore. They would be in Hamamatsu in about an hour, she'd get a room at the inn and leave on the boat bright and early. Sakura got her things together and double-checked the lavatory to make sure she wasn't leaving behind any expensive soaps or monogrammed towels. She impatiently flipped through _Fire of Will_ again, wanting something familiar to fiddle with while she was waiting through the last forty-five minutes for their arrival. She jokingly thought about jumping ship and running the rest of the way. At least it'd be fun.

Soon enough, the short passenger train pulled into the station with a hiss. Sakura grabbed her pack and fairly flew down the aisle, leaping onto the platform and speeding precariously through the crowded station into the village. She located a reasonably priced inn near the docks in good time and set about finding a place to eat as well. Good thing that gold coin was good everywhere.

She sat down in a local restaurant and ordered the special, something the darkly tanned waiter had gruffly described as prawns in his thick Waterfall accent, the menu had read _Gambas Pil Pil_. She was astounded when she was confronted with a garlicky mound of grilled shrimp over red rice, garnished with healthy-looking frilly green lettuce leaves. She was dismayed at the lack of silverware but dug in anyway.

"_To new experiences!"_ she toasted herself and took a swig of the accompanying white wine. _"Paradise. Thank you, Sasuke."_ she smiled to herself, not missing his presence for a moment.

She polished her plate and glass, then gasped at the check. _"Eighteen ryo? Are you kidding?"_ she left the young man a generous tip for his delicious suggestion and left the restaurant, heading for the inn with her wallet not much lighter than it had been when she left. She marveled at the colorful shops and dark native people on her way back to the lodge, amazed at the number of children and animals that roamed the street at the late hour. She smiled to herself. _"This must be a safe place." _Yawning and stretching, she made her way up to her room for a good sleep. She would need it.

* * *

><p>Sasuke trudged into Tsunade's office early, tired from another sleepless night. <em>"Sakura should be boarding the ship to Whirlpool in about an hour."<em> He hoped the time change wasn't affecting her too much. She would need her energy.

He was surprised at the company he had that morning. Naruto had apparently been sent on a mission with someone else this time. His former sensei greeted him with a glance and promptly paid him no more attention.

"_Icha Icha Tactics? It's been awhile since that saw the light of day."_ Sasuke smirked at Kakashi's choice of literature.

"Where's Paradise?"

Kakashi threw him an irritated look. "I let a friend borrow it."

Sasuke faked astonishment. "You parted with your precious Icha Icha? He must be a _close_ friend." Sasuke prodded.

Kakashi glared at the boy. "None of you respect me anymore. And my friend is a _she_." That shut Sasuke up.

Tsunade interrupted loudly. "I'm sending you to Sand! They need some reinforcements at the border. Apparently Sound is causing trouble again." she raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "That won't be a problem, will it?" Sasuke shrugged, frowning, his posture screaming 'I don't care'. "Good." Tsunade threw Kakashi the mission scroll. "A-class, you understand? Report to no one but Gaara or myself and don't take orders from anyone else. Got it?" she barked.

"Ryoukai shimashta." Kakashi saluted the Godaime and shut his book with a snap, stowing it safely in his shuriken pouch. Sasuke saluted her as well and the pair bounded out the window to Kakashi's apartment to get ready for the lengthy mission. They leapt into the bachelor's apartment much as they had left the Fifth's office. Kakashi opened the scroll carelessly, scanning its contents briefly before tossing it to Sasuke. The Uchiha tried to conceal his shock.

"She said Sand. Not Sound. Did I hear her correctly?" he murmured to the room.

Kakashi cocked his head at the young ANBU. "Danzou was listening." he said, as though that explained everything.

"_The mission time frame is indefinite? Goddammit all to hell."_ Sasuke thought angrily to himself. Kakashi noted his distress, observant as ever.

"You knew what the job entailed when you signed up."

Sasuke nodded. "You're right. And she knows we won't be able to infiltrate the place, not since she's sending me."

Kakashi nodded in turn. "You'll lead the way. Then we dispose of Orochimaru once and for all."

Sasuke sighed. "Why send me? Doesn't she realize what kind of risk she's putting me in? He could take over my body." he protested seriously.

Kakashi frowned at his former student. "You and I both know that's bullshit. Quit stalling. Go get your shit together so we can get this mess over with. Maybe we'll even come back early. But more importantly, we come back alive, early or not." Kakashi was much less patient now that his students were adults. Particularly, it seemed that he was harder on Sasuke. Sasuke sighed resolutely in agreement and turned to leave. _"I can't afford to die. Not yet."_

* * *

><p>Sakura rose early the next morning and threw on some civilian clothes she had brought with her, capris and a tank top as well as a hoodie to fight off the cool of the humid Hamamatsu morning. Sakura jogged to the aviary she had passed earlier the day before and sent off her hastily written note.<p>

_"Got to Hamamatsu yesterday. Boarding ship today. Will contact you again when I arrive in Whirlpool. - Sakura"_

The message didn't need to be encrypted since she wasn't even on a real mission. Sakura smiled, satisfied, and hit the rooftops all the way to the docks. She was slightly surprised at the sight of the ship. It was nothing like the wooden boats she had taken passage on during rare overseas missions. It was more like a large yacht. The people boarding didn't look like your average villagers or even townsfolk. She doubted anyone among them were shinobi. She looked down at her plain attire and back to the people getting on the yacht.

"_Screw it!" _Inner Sakura cheered. _"We're kunoichi. Mistresses of blending unnoticed. Let's rock this."_ she smirked. _"Yes indeed."_ Sakura replied to herself, and without further ado leapt down into the alley and walked into the line of passengers. A few disdainful looks were thrown her way but she maintained her smile blithely and handed the young man at the top of the gangplank her ticket.

"All set, miss." He handed her paperwork back to her and she headed straight to her cabin. As soon as the door shut she frowned, throwing her pack onto the bed and assaulting it. She pulled out packing scrolls like a madwoman and laid hands on a purple one. She unrolled it with flair and it fell to the floor heavily just as all of her beach attire materialized. Satisfied, she rummaged for a smaller, black scroll which she unrolled quickly, throwing it to the ground. Several pairs of shoes along with a variety of miscellaneous accessories appeared with a faint _poof _and before long, Sakura had stripped all of her clothes off. She grabbed a fistful of black lycra from the row of neatly folded clothes on the purple scroll and pulled it on quickly. No one would be smirking now, these were the clothes she and Ino had spent nearly 45,000 ryo on. She slipped her feet into a pair of black wedge-heeled sandals and threw on a large hat and a pair of sunglasses. She emptied a few necessities into a tiny black, white and gold clutch and on an impulse grabbed _Icha Icha_ as she headed out the door. She locked it and with a discreet seal she applied some real security to her room. She smirked as she passed a couple of snobby-looking bottle blondes. The glint of the interlocked letters _D&G_ that rested between her breasts had undoubtedly caught their eye as she sashayed by them and they dropped their conversation. Sakura headed out to the main deck where a few people were already lounging near a small pool. Waves broke noisily on the bow, but it was a soothing sound.

She smiled inwardly as a couple of men turned to look at her and she noticed one young man look longer than necessary at her toned body. _"Hell yeah!"_ Inner Sakura's hurrah just made Sakura happier as she nonchalantly laid on a poolside lounge chair and cracked _Icha Icha_ to her last stopping point.

Oh, yes, this was certainly going to be some vacation.

Sakura sipped on a drink she had ordered when one of the waitstaff passed by and giggled into her borrowed pulp novel. She felt very relaxed and safe, lost in her volume of _Paradise_. Her sharp shinobi skills picked up easily on the approaching civilian male of course, though. She readied her serious facade behind the little book. The boy hesitated for almost thirty seconds before speaking, oblivious to the fact that she knew he was there, thinking her engrossed in her literature.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"_Wow, really? Such a tired line." _Inner Sakura groaned.

Sakura tilted her book away from her face slightly, revealing her sun glasses. As expected, it was the same sandy-haired boy from before, the one whose gaze had lingered longer than the others. Now she thought that maybe she understood why Kakashi always read the books. It was so easy to look busy. She let him sweat before she answered, reaching for her glass and making sure her wedding ring clinked against it as she picked it up.

"I've got one." sipped it pointedly as she turned him down.

"Oh. Sorry." the boy had glanced at her ring as soon as she had held up her drink, and he shuffled away, demoralized after the simple exchange.

"Pussy." Sakura muttered under her breath. Civilian boys were so _soft_.

A few more minutes went by and her drink was empty, Sakura stretched and stood from her comfortable chair when an unfamiliar voice addressed her.

"Uchiha-sama?"

"_The hell?"_ she was surprised at the honorific. She turned to the source of the voice, a short, dark-haired man with a deeply lined face. There was something... shifty about his demeanor.

"Yes?"

"I'm the owner of this yacht, Dan Chui."

"_That explains the accent. He's from Mizu."_

Sakura didn't respond. She waited expectantly.

The man stepped forward after a tense moment and extended a tattooed hand to her, which she grasped firmly, much to his surprise. _"Dragon tattoo. Characters for family, power and money across the knuckles. Heavy gold rings."_ she fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. _"Obviously some minor gangster, from the blue dragon I'd say he's part of the Three Dragons gang."_ the thoughts flew through her head unbidden, her kunoichi observational skills kicking into first gear.

"I expect you're finding everything to your liking? Your room satisfies your tastes?"

Sakura was suspicious and shocked at the same time. The man was treating her like an honored guest, he didn't even know her and he certainly hadn't approached anyone else on the ship since she'd boarded. At least, not that she'd noticed.

"Everything is wonderful." she found herself responding warmly, yet she remained guarded and kept a respectable distance after disentangling her hand from his. She couldn't help but feel it was somehow dirtied now. _"Great, there's probably all kinds of drugs on the ship. All of these rich people are probably associated with the gang and here I am in the middle of this mess."_

"I'm sure you must have many questions." the short man murmured. "Well, I'd love to explain things to you over dinner."

She could tell the man wasn't coming onto her.

"I know your husband." he said plainly by way of explanation. Things started to make a little bit of sense, but why and how was Sasuke associating with this caliber of person?

"Okay. I'd be glad to join you." she supposed she didn't have much choice. "When should I meet you?"

The man looked relieved. "At seven fifteen if that's ok with you? I'll have someone bring you up to the upper deck?" Dan offered.

"I'll find my way." she smiled firmly, valuing the importance of showing no weakness to this individual.

"Of course." she could see his fingers twitching nervously. The man smiled smoothly, though the gesture was obviously fake. "I'll see you then."

Sakura offered forth her own fake smile. "Of course." she echoed. _"This should be interesting."_

* * *

><p>About four hours later, Sakura headed out the door. Clad in a stretchy, off the shoulder Donna Karan number that reached her ankles (with the exception of the thigh-high slit) she sealed the door, then leapt precariously onto the railing, adhering herself to it with chakra. Certain that the coast was clear, she reached up to the edge of the next deck and pulled herself up and through the railing, rolling onto the walkway above her room. She figured she'd take a few minutes to acquaint herself with this Dan fellow before she met with him formally. As could be expected, one deck up, what was obviously a private cabin extruded from the top of the small ship, surrounded by a deck where their table was set up. A sort of portable plexiglass structure shielded the area from the wind. Sakura gathered all of this from a few seconds of glancing around over the edge of the flat space and by the shadows cast on the windows she deduced where the short, balding man must be. Sakura smirked. <em>"Civilians."<em>

She slunk in the shadows by the wall to whatever rooms were directly behind the Captain's area. _"Hah!"_ a small lavatory, probably for the crew, was situated very near where she needed it to be. She darted in and performed a quick sound amplifying jutsu that used very little chakra on the ceiling, while balancing on the toilet seat and tank in her heels. Sakura procured a small glass that had been in her own bathroom from her purse and pressed the open end to the ceiling, quickly glancing at her watch. _"6:54."_ twenty-one minutes from the time he had specified for their meeting, but who was really counting besides her? She smiled as the muffled conversation reached her ear in the dark room.

"-Uchiha woman."

"_Damn."_ Sakura frowned. She had just missed whatever he said.

"She's not stupid, if she is Uchiha Sasuke's wife. He sent her here on purpose, she's a ninja, remember that."

"_Not the short guy."_

"Of course! How could I forget, after what her husband did to me?"

Sakura listened attentively.

"Damned hidden villages, sticking their noses in places where they shouldn't."

"_This guy obviously has no idea how missions work."_

"If we had pulled off that shipment, we'd be rolling in it right now."

Sakura rolled her eyes. _"The fuck."_

"This yacht transport was a great idea boss." one of his lackeys applauded.

The boss grumbled something.

She could hear them walking around and someone was dragging something as well. A sack, from the sounds of it. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"That blonde guy was real nice though. You're lucky to be alive."

"Shut up." That was the short guy. These guys must be related to him for him not to beat the crap out of them for statements like that.

"Yeah but the Uchiha is going to kick your ass if he ever finds out you..."

Sakura strained to hear but the man was whispering now. She glanced at her watch. _"7:07."_ Plenty of time left.

"He already knows! Why do you think his wife is here? She's probably here to kill me." Sakura could hear the heaviness in the man's voice. _"What did he do to Sasuke?"_ "I need to learn to keep my mouth shut one of these days." he paused. "Heh. It doesn't matter now." _"The man honestly thinks I'm going to kill him."_ Sakura was amazed at the effect she had on this man, regardless of her ability having been inflated by her new last name as well as Sasuke's reputation. _"7:11."_ She needed to get moving. One more minute.

"Or their hidden village sent her. Smart move not bringing a shipment this trip, in case she snoops."

"_You're just patronizing him now."_

"The Uchiha sent the letter personally. He knows. It's just a matter of time before he wipes us out, or she does."

Sakura's mouth fell open.

"You think he sent her to kill _him_ too?"

"We aren't going to talk about _that_. I'm done with those people. If I never see another Uchiha after this trip, I'll be ecstatic."

"_7:12. Time to go." _

Sakura's hands flew in a series of signs breaking the amateur sound jutsu and she tossed the glass into the sea nonchalantly as she exited the lavatory. She checked her dress one last time and then leapt cockily up onto the uppermost deck, two unfashionable minutes early. She nearly laughed as she could make out the scrambling of the gangsters within the cabin and finally a flustered Dan emerged.

"Mr. Chui?" she looked at him innocently, feigning concern.

"Good evening, Mrs. Uchiha. Please, sit, please. You look amazing!" he smiled broadly, keeping his eyes above her collarbones.

"Thank you." the corners of her mouth turned up delicately. "You look well yourself."

The man's skin paled slightly at her mention of his well-being and she couldn't help but laugh inside. This guy was a total nervous wreck. Still, he sat and clapped his hands and two large men and one skinny one, dressed as cooks, brought out a cart loaded with their meal. _"Goons."_ Sakura's stomach tightened in her hunger, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew very well that she might not eat any of that delicious-smelling food.

She ooh-ed and aah-ed appropriately as they served up her plate, however. "Mmm, looks good!" and it was no lie. She gently channeled her chakra into her fork as she poked at the fish filet in front of her. She was pleasantly surprised to find no traces of poison in the chakra that returned up the other side of the fork to her hand. _"Cool."_ She smiled genuinely now. "I'm starved."

The man smiled nervously again. "No poison. I know how paranoid you shinobi are. I won't be offended if you need to test it."

Sakura laughed. "I already did." the man was obviously impressed with her ability to test it without tools. "I'm very good with poisons." she lowered her voice. The man nodded enthusiastically. "Good, good!" His eyes were wide.

"_Poor man, he's going to take everything I say like that, isn't he?"_

"Bon appetite!" Dan encouraged and attacked his food with vigor, as though it were his last meal.

Sakura shook her head slightly, yet dug in with almost equal intensity. It was almost comical the way the unlikely pair shared the meal. Too soon, they finished.

"So, what brings you to Whirlpool?"

"_The man doesn't beat around the bush."_

"Vacation, for once. I have no reason to be here other than Sasuke offered to send me on a lovely all-expenses-paid trip."

"_Does she truly have no idea?"_ Dan thought to himself. "Really?" he voiced, trying to sound casual.

"Is there something I should know?" Sakura risked giving away having listened to Dan's conversation with the 'cooks' earlier, but he didn't catch on, whether because of nerves or stupidity only he knew.

"No, no!" Mr. Chui shook his head. "It's just that, considering you're in the bingo books I thought you'd steer clear of Whirlpool."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him but didn't raise her voice. Really, it was about time he quit playing his stupid game with her. "You don't have to feed me just to get me here to give me potentially valuable information."

The man looked shocked at her forwardness with him. _"I'm a kunoichi, get over it you dipshit."_ Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I can tell you're hiding something." She leaned forward ever so slightly for effect. "Something big. If it warrants your referral to my Bingo Book entry it must be important. So spit it out. Now."

The man's eyes widened and his hands shook violently. "I'm sorry Uchiha-s-sama, please forgive me! I was sure that your husband had told you!"

"Should he have known?" _"So what he was referring to earlier..."_

"I was so sure he knew." Dan's face was downcast. He seemed to relax more now that he wasn't living in fear for his existence. "I won't pretend to understand what's happening, but I will tell you this, for your own well-being. There are Akatsuki bounty hunters in Whirlpool. As someone in the Book, you should know."

Sakura was flabbergasted. She nodded slowly. "Thank you." she found the words of gratitude with difficulty. _"Sasuke is ANBU. He must have known. What was he thinking!"_ Sakura swallowed her confusion down, hard. She stood and the man flinched.

"I'm not going to kill you. Not this time around anyway. Thank you, you may have just saved my life." She held her hand out to the man. Sakura was not ungrateful. Dan stood slowly and grasped her own small hand in his. "It's the least I could do. Your husband nearly killed me, but at the last moment, because of his friend mostly, I think, he was merciful, and let me live. I owe him my life, so at least I can help him somehow."

Sakura nodded seriously. _"Now I see what Naruto saw in him."_ "I think I'll return to my cabin. I have some preparing to do."

Dan shook his head in the affirmative as well. "I understand. If you are in need of anything at all please let me know."

Sakura waved her hand vaguely at him as she walked to the railing and leapt onto it.

"Oh. Thanks for the food." she spoke over her shoulder, as an afterthought, and dropped down to the second deck, then launched herself over the railing and under the deck to her cabin.

Sakura had some thinking to do.

* * *

><p>She spent much of the next day in her cabin, coming out once early in to morning to retrieve sustenance from the galley. Mr. Chui didn't bother her, thankfully. Sakura's brain was working overtime trying to sort through the information she had received logically. <em>"He should have known. I can't rule out the possibility that Sasuke does know. Maybe he thinks I can handle it?"<em> Her frown deepened. _"There's no one person in Konoha, Naruto, who can handle two Akatsuki by himself. There may be others who can handle one, but not two. And I don't make that list."_ She sighed for the hundredth time that day. Lethargically, she tugged on some practical clothes and packed her belongings back up. They would arrive at the port in Atami tomorrow but she didn't feel like waiting. Sakura felt exhausted, and decided some empty sleep was what she needed. Sakura laid down and performed a sleep jutsu on herself. She had never done that before, not even after witnessing the atrocity of the massacre, but she felt desperate and depressed.

_"It's better this way…"_

She awoke early the next morning, groggy, feeling as though no sooner than she had closed her eyes they had opened again. _"Should I tell Tsunade? Should I go home?"_ She questioned herself. Her situation was a dangerous one. Even so, it was possible that she would be ok if she stuck to the tourist town of Atami. It should be relatively safe there and with her civilian clothes maybe she could blend in with the populace.

_"Stick to the plan. You __**are**__ strong." _her inner voice reassured her. Sakura's face was hard in her resolution. She _would_ be fine.

She could feel the yacht reducing its speed as it approached the port, and so she slung her pack across her back determinedly and marched onto the deck to face the day.

* * *

><p>Sasuke sighed again as he looked out onto the familiar lands bordering Wind. They'd cross River, then head into Sound. Hopefully this path would be more discreet. River was practically desolate, devoid of nearly all human life save for a hidden village smaller than that of the Star country. He'd be thankful to get out of the freezing, sandy wind of Konoha's allied country but it would only get colder as they journeyed further north and hacking through the dense forest was not on his list of most enjoyable activities. But it came with the job. So he and Kakashi took their first steps into the sparse pines on the border and within a few minutes they were pushing through and ducking under the twisted, spiny boughs. There were still a few hours until dusk, and their cloaks kept them warm, but the altitude was steadily increasing and getting through River would certainly be an uphill journey the whole way. To top it off, there were dark grey clouds on the horizon, heavy with the promise of snow.<p>

It had snowed often in Oto during Sasuke's stay there; all winter, every winter in fact, but the snow there was drier, powdery. River was notorious for its wet flakes. If only they could leap through the treetops their travel time would be decreased by about a third he reckoned, but there was no chance in the spindly upper levels of the pines. It would also be a waste of chakra on a mission with an indefinite time frame and it might give away their position if any river ninja spotted them. River wasn't exactly friends with Oto but they definitely weren't Konoha's allies either.

"Snow." The statement came quietly from his companion, but it elicited a response from the dark-haired ANBU. "Yes." Kakashi didn't respond for a few minutes. "Will there be a place to camp? I haven't been here in years." Sasuke nodded. "There are a few rocky canyons here. If we're lucky we can find a cave." _"Or we'll be making shelters out of dead pine branches."_ The latter went without saying. Unnecessary words hardly ever passed between the two. Kakashi knew Sasuke too well for that, idle chatter did nothing for either man. Several hours later the temperature had dropped considerably and their hot breaths puffed into the air rapidly. The forest was dead quiet except for them.

"Almost there." The terrain was becoming more and more familiar to the ex-Oto nin. One moment they were tearing through the undergrowth of pine saplings and hardy ferns and the next moment Sasuke had leapt downwards with confidence, adhering to the sheer limestone face with his chakra. Kakashi followed him closely and soon they had reached the bottom and they ran on the river, hurriedly, looking carefully for the promised cave. Finally Sasuke caught sight of it. It was the same one he and Karin had stayed in on his way back to Konoha. Without a word, the pair stopped under the opening and scaled the rough wall. They hauled their tired bodies up over the ledge. Sasuke was pleased to see through the dim light from the mouth of the cave that the wood he had gathered and never used all that time ago was still there. That was a good indication that few people traveled this way, if any. At most it looked as though a few birds may have taken refuge in the crag, but he was sure that Kakashi and himself were the first people to visit the cave since he and Karin had been there. Sasuke dropped the dry wood in a faintly charred area about ten yards from the front of the cave just as a slight wind picked up. The pines crashed and creaked above them but very little wind reached the cave. It was the perfect spot for the two ANBU to weather the storm. With little effort Sasuke lit the timber and soon a small area near the fire was comfortably warm.

Kakashi peeled off his vest and Sasuke followed suit. It would be ramen tonight, there hadn't been many signs of life throughout their trek through the dense woods. The animals knew when to take shelter. Sasuke and Kakashi silently hoped that they wouldn't be holed up in the cave any longer than necessary. Kakashi procured a small pot from his pack and, wrapping his cloak about him, leapt to the water below. He returned quickly and set about hanging it onto the collapsible rack Sasuke had unfolded over the flames. Finally he sat to rest near the young Uchiha.

"Temperature's dropping."

"Hn." Sasuke stared into the flames.

Minutes crept by and heavy, large flakes began to fly by the cave entrance in the stiff wind.

"Orochimaru is weak."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Sasuke.

"It's the truth." The young man insisted quietly, still not meeting the copy-nin's eyes. "I think as long as I'm the one to face him, we'll be ok. I've thought of a way to counter his body-transfer technique." _"If it doesn't work I'll need your backup."_

"I see."_ "And I'll be there if it doesn't work."_

"If I can turn the curse seal on him, seal him back, he'll be weakened and I'll have the opportunity to kill him. The problem will be finding the bastard and killing Kabuto." Sasuke spat into the fire.

Kakashi scooted toward the pot and checked it, the water was boiling so he slit the two packages with his kunai, dropping the noodles into the hot water along with the seaweed packets and bouillon.

"Sounds pretty foolproof."

"Hn." _"He only understands because of the Sharingan. Orochimaru probably wouldn't stand a chance against Kakashi either."_ "There would only be a threat from him if he's transferred bodies recently, or acquired some impressive bloodline limit. But with our combined experience we should do well against him, regardless."

Kakashi nodded as he stirred their meal.

"So... any clue as to where he might be?"

Sasuke set his face in his palm, threading his fingers loosely into his midnight strands.

Kakashi nodded slightly "I'll take that as a no."

"Orochimaru may be weak, but he's not stupid. He'll have changed the locations of his hideouts by know, considering that Karin and I both had a thorough knowledge of all of them. They were always large and elaborate in the past though, so if they still are, that favors our needs."

"Where did she go after she left the village?"

Sasuke pondered this for a moment while Kakashi fished their noodles out of the saucepan.

"I don't know. I know she always talked about going back to Ame." _"At least, I vaguely remember her bitching about it once or twice."_

"Maybe she's in Sound. Did you think about that?"

"No." Sasuke replied honestly, taking his bowl from Kakashi. She hadn't crossed his mind in awhile. He'd been preoccupied with Sakura. Sasuke poked at the noodles in his bowl, sliding them from one side of the dish to the other with his metal chopsticks. Sakura would have cooked him bonito onigiri if he'd asked her to, whether she hated him or not. He was sure she hated him now, especially if Chui had opened his loose lips to her during the boat trip. He'd meant for it to be a leisurely, luxurious ride for her, considering what was likely to happen later on during her 'vacation'. He wanted to show her that he did care about her, but he was beginning to think that showering her with money and luxury wouldn't win her heart back. She was too practical. Certainly, anyone would enjoy the yacht trip but it didn't exactly spell 'love'. It was more like... He couldn't wrap his head around the concept so he dismissed it. Too touchy-feely. Sasuke started wolfing the rapidly cooling noodles before they coagulated into an inedible mess.

"Sakura?" the copy-cat had finished first, naturally. Sasuke shot him an angry glance, hoping that would stave off any more questions from his companion.

"What's the matter? Don't want to talk about it?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Sasuke's glare had the opposite effect on him.

"No. No I don't."

"Is there a problem?" Kakashi asked quietly, his voice laced with concern.

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Sasuke muttered almost inaudibly. "She hates me."

Kakashi waited.

A few moments passed and eventually the dam broke, just as the silver-haired ninja knew it would.

"She never talks to me. She is always at work when I'm home, and when we are home together, she always has something more important to do..." He trailed off. _"More important than what? Attending to my every need? Doing me?"_

"Why do you think that is? She doesn't _have_ to work the night shift, does she?" the latter question was rhetorical.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "It's a little personal." he replied stiffly.

Kakashi chuckled quietly. "Personal? I've known you since you were twelve. Doesn't get much more personal than that." he reminded Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed irritably. "It might have something to do with the uh, ghosts." he felt stupid saying it aloud.

Kakashi looked into the fire sadly now. "Ah."

"She might have found out some things about the massacre." he spoke the words bitterly.

Kakashi turned his head, facing his partner. _"Really?"_

Sasuke sighed heavily. "Maybe she saw the whole thing. I don't know. That's how she made it seem."

"She didn't talk to you about it?" _"That's uncharacteristic for her."_

Sasuke shook his head. "Neither one of us knew what to say, really. Since then, she's been avoiding me."

Kakashi caught him in his lie-by-omission but didn't probe the open wound he had stumbled across. _"Something else happened that started this behavior. Maybe it involved the massacre scene peripherally, but Sakura wouldn't stop talking to Sasuke just because she knew what happened that night. If anything it should have brought them closer to each other, she should have looked to him for support and vice-versa. He did something to her and she doesn't trust him enough to seek him out for help. Sasuke is cold, but Sakura expects that from him. It can't be that he was unfeeling about her experience. No, something bigger happened for her to turn away from him like that. She has spent most of her life loving him. There's no way she would just turn her back on all of the hard work she put into their relationship without a catalyst."_ Sasuke sat quietly as Kakashi processed the information he'd been fed.

Kakashi stood but before he could open his mouth, Sasuke beat him to the punch.

"I'll take the first watch."

* * *

><p>Sakura stepped happily off of the large yacht, glad to be free of the suffocating environment she hadn't even realized she'd been a part of. A large part of her discomfort on the ship was created by Mr. Chui. Even though he wasn't threatening to her in any way, his proximity forced her to think of things that she wanted to ignore, namely Sasuke and the Akatsuki. To her, he represented all of the under-handed, behind-the-scenes dirty dealings that gave people like Sasuke a reason to join the black-ops. Sakura felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her chest. <em>"Time to really start enjoying my vacation!"<em> She smiled happily. Really at heart, she was a carefree creature.

Sakura stopped at the conveniently located aviary near the dock and scribbled another note to Tsunade.

"_Just got to Atami. Weather is beautiful. Going to the clinic to ask about willows, not missing Konoha yet :P – Sakura"_

Sakura smiled faintly, thinking of her Shishou as she tied the letter to the dark hawk. She watched it as it flapped away slowly, gliding on the warm, semi-tropical air. Sakura turned and made her way down the unfamiliar streets, and she finally snagged the attention of a passerby. Thankfully she could understand his broken attempts at speaking her language, and he understood her inquest of "Clinic?". The tall, brown man pointed her down the street and then right, then left. Or at least, that's what she gathered from his gestures and halting directions. She strode past the many closed doors and shutters of the town and started to worry just as she rounded the last corner. Plain as day, the red circle inset with a white cross was painted across the top of the low, thick-walled building, but the doors and windows were shut here too. Sakura looked at her watch. _"8:28."_ Apparently it was a cultural thing, everyplace was closed and there were few signs that the town would stir to life soon. Now that she knew where the clinic was though, she felt that she could relax. She knew where home was and that was what mattered.

Sakura decided she would try to scrounge up some breakfast while she was waiting. There had to be a shop or restaurant open somewhere in this sleepy town. She zig-zagged aimlessly across the streets of the town, passing by a few women who stood in the streets sweeping the dirt from in between the cobblestones of the thoroughfares, armed with buckets of water to keep the dust down and large, straw brooms. She passed the livery and the hardware store which were both open. A few early-rising men loitered in front of the buildings smoking and shooting the breeze, but their conversations stopped and they leered at her as she passed on the other side of the street. They were harmless, but she still felt an uncomfortable heat prickle on her neck as she saw them. She passed a large enclosed marketplace just as the metal doors slid upwards and she passed a butcher's shop where a short, muscular man with a mustache was viciously chopping a shoulder of beef into haphazard chunks. He looked up and smiled at her through the window as she passed, and she waved slightly at him in greeting. Something akin to embarrassment passed over his face as she raised her hand, so she quickly put it away. _"I need to read up on the customs of this place. Seems the things I'm used to doing in Konoha can be easily misinterpreted here."_ her face fell, but she continued on in her quest for food. Finally she reached an overgrown plaza, peppered with large non-native trees and surrounded by a narrow, cracked sidewalk. A crumbling gazebo stood tiredly in the center of the park. But Sakura smiled. She had reached her goal.

On the far side of the street a dark old man with white hair was diligently squeezing an assortment of citrus fruits into a cocktail. Behind him his young assistant stood, sweat beading on her brow as she crushed chopped tropical fruits into a fine puree in her massive mortar. Already, the hairs that had loosed themselves from her ponytail stuck to her neck in wet strands. Sakura smiled and half-ran to the juice stand.

"Ola." She ventured.

The old man smiled at her caringly. "Bom dia. Desejava uma bebida?"

Her Whirlpool wasn't _that_ good. Sakura smiled stupidly. The man nodded knowingly, still smiling and reached for a paper cup, there were three sizes and he held his hand over each one momentarily until she nodded at the biggest size. He set it on the counter and then looked meaningfully to the pile of fruit beside him. There were so many that Sakura had never seen, and a few that she recognized. _"Papaya. Eew."_ Sakura pointed to a pink fruit that looked a lot like a thick-skinned orange, then to a few scrawny strawberries near the pile. She hesitated for a moment and the man held up a finger to her and turned to rummage under the counter, murmuring something to the girl. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and responded curtly, "Nao." It seemed she was of little help as she turned back to her work without so much as glancing at Sakura. A few moments later the man popped back up over the counter holding a plastic grocery sack with some mixed berries in the bottom. He smiled at her and nodded. Sakura smiled in agreement and he bent again, bringing out a couple of plastic containers, one an obvious bottle of milk, the other a perfect cylinder. She pointed to the second and exaggeratedly tilted her head in a question. He opened it and tilted it toward her. She didn't have to get too close to figure out what it was. It reeked, it was goat milk yogurt.

"_What the hell?"_ Inner Sakura prodded. _"Let's try it!"_ Sakura met her inner halfway and pointed to both containers. The man laughed, nodding more, "Sim, sim!" he exclaimed and vigorously began squeezing and mashing the various fruits into a cocktail. Finally he handed her the completed drink and he wrote what she owed him on a scrap of paper. Twelve _real_. She dug in her purse for a moment and pulled out two gold coins. "Oro?" She had at least bothered to learn that. The man nodded and took the money graciously. The working girl turned slightly to watch the transaction, never stopping in her endless fruit-pulverizing.

"Uh..." Sakura began. "Onde... Umm... Fruta..." she pointed to the fruit as she pointed. The man's smile wavered slightly. _"He doesn't understand me. Where do you get the fruit?" _She had no way of communicating her question to the elderly man. The young woman suddenly looked at the kunoichi over her shoulder.

"What arre jou tryink do zay?" the woman's r's rolled easily over her tongue and her eyes spoke of a huge sense of self-confidence to Sakura. Although taken aback, she pounced on the opportunity.

"Where do you find this fruit?"

"On the rrenfodest." _"In the rainforest."_ Sakura thought. _"Great."_

"I'm looking for a tree that grows near water." Sakura waved a hand uselessly, trying to communicate the concept of a tree to the woman who obviously understood her.

"What kind ob turree?" she drew out the word 'tree' with her unique accent. At the same time she cut to the chase. The irritating pinkette was underestimating her proficiency.

"Uh, it's a WILLOW tree." Sakura spoke loudly as though that would help the doe-eyed woman to understand her.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Pirul. Go daon de beesh, to de rrocks, den go into de rrenfodest frrom deah. Jou beel find Pirul deh. Deh ees a lek. Botch por bitches." (Go down the beach, to the rocks, then go into the rainforest from there. You will find willow there. There is a lake. Watch for...) Sakura spluttered on her drink. "Bitches?" The woman sighed, lowering her pestle and turning to face the girl. "Veeches." She enunciated more clearly but Sakura still didn't get it. The woman made a show of being irritated and grabbed a pen. In slanted capital letters she scrawled onto the paper, WITCHES. Then without another word, she turned back to her work.

"Oh." Sakura smiled at the woman who smirked back over her shoulder at the pink-haired kunoichi. _"She was making a joke. She and Sasuke would get along."_

"Obrigada." Sakura raised her drink to the two and the man responded with a happy, "Boa sorte!" and Sakura turned toward the beach, looking around her and realizing that everyplace was still closed._ "Might as well make the most of my time." _She smiled to herself and sipped her creamy beverage, walking toward the source of the cool morning breeze.

She reached the shore at just about ten o'clock. _The stores are probably open now."_ she thought to herself. _"Eh, I've got all week."_ she shrugged, turning down the deserted shore. She came upon the rocks shortly, within about fifteen minutes of her leisurely stroll, and she was amazed at the view of the rocky, sandy beach beyond. _"What I've been walking on must be an artificial beach."_ She didn't bother looking over her shoulder. The natural beauty that stretched before her was much more captivating. A variety of small, dark grey rocks lined the shore, melding seamlessly into patches of grass peppered with slender trees. She marveled at the sight for a short while, wistfully thinking of Sai's artistic abilities, but eventually she turned away from the water and delved into the rainforest. She thought about using her chakra to climb a tree to look for the lake, but the thought was fleeting and she was soon fascinated with the many colorful plants in the undergrowth. She nearly danced with joy when finding upon a thicket of young saplings, "So cute!" she exclaimed, and she ran through them, their pointed leaves tickling her calves and thighs. Finally she came to a small pool fed by a tiny, tumbling waterfall, there was a rocky ledge that spanned on as far as she could see and the pool rested right alongside it. Moss and algae thrived on the rocks near the waterfall and tinted the area a dark green, and two giant, twisted willow trees towered over the small pool, their hanging branches grazing the surface of the water, swaying and spinning gently. Sakura grinned at having finally reached her prize and with a small cry of victory she traipsed across the water, scaling the larger of the two willows.

* * *

><p>Itachi trudged through the thick vegetation on the mesa tiredly. He wasn't tired because of the hour, he had always been an early riser. He was exhausted from a lack of sleep. He rubbed his face as he made his way along the familiar trail. He'd been here for all of a month and he felt sicker than ever. Itachi frowned as he dropped his hand to his side and it brushed his jutting hipbone. He was losing weight to boot. He had thought the heat would help his sickness, and that the isolation he was subjecting himself to would help keep him from contracting illnesses. He had succumbed to too many colds and stomach flus this year to count. He coughed shallowly without opening his mouth. His chest felt heavier than ever. His thin figure emerged from the trees and he drew a little chakra to his feet, steadying himself on the wet rocks on the shore of the tiny rivulet that fed the pool below. Itachi squatted, cupping the crystal-clear liquid in his hands and splashed it on his face, then repeated the process. Finally he brought a handful to his lips and drank deeply from his cupped hands. He sighed softly with relief after gulping the cool liquid. Itachi's mind was fairly blank as he stood from his morning routine and stared to the bed of the stream. His subconscious was busy worrying about his breathing and his predicament, as well as his duty to the Akatsuki, but his mind was busy focusing on staying calm and relaxed. It would do him no good for Sasuke to hear of his brother's death after a taxing anxiety attack. No, he needed to stay calm, to protect his ever-weakening lungs.<p>

He was just about to turn back to the trees when he sensed a small, feminine spike of chakra nearby. The look of shock never crossed his stoic, albeit calm, face, but he looked in the direction of the energy, intrigued.

"_Kunoichi. This far out of the way?"_ Itachi stepped back carefully from the slippery rocks he was standing on and gradually reduced his chakra level to match that of a small animal. Carefully, quietly he approached the ledge; soon he adopted a prone posture and pulled himself through the ferns to the edge of the outcropping. He was glad he officially pledged allegiance to no village, his hitae-ate would only cause him trouble at a time like this. He threw out his elbow for one last pull and peeked over the sheer rock wall to survey the area, and try to identify his intruder.

Itachi's lips pursed slightly in semblance of a frown. Some young, shapely thing was hacking into one of his favorite trees mercilessly with her kunai, peeling away the bark near the top of the tree.

"_Medic."_ he thought to himself. He had thought of harvesting the inner bark for its well-known pain relieving properties himself, but couldn't bring himself to mar the beauty of the old tree the kunoichi was now slicing into. His fingers tensed but he took no action, merely watching her from a safe distance. His gaze swept lightly over her form, examining her choice of attire. Khaki shorts, a red hoodie tied about the waist cleverly hiding her ninja pouches and a white cotton t-shirt hugged her form. He could even make out the color of her bra from here, it was a deep shade of red. He smirked approvingly to himself. Finally his vision rested on her mop of pink hair and his brow twitched in vague recognition.

"_Pink hair..."_

Itachi couldn't remember whom he had met with the unique coloring, although he was sure he _had_ met someone like that before. As the young woman sat up to scrutinize her work, her hitae-ate flashed blindingly and caught the sun for an instant, and Itachi would recognize the mark of the hidden village anywhere.

"_Konoha. That's why I don't wear my hitae-ate."_ his memory of her came back to him in a rush. _"Medic, she's in the Bingo Book. That's where I recognize her from most recently. I met her along with Hatake Kakashi and Naruto in the forests of Tea once. She's the apprentice of the Godaime."_ He scanned his brain for a split second. _"Haruno. Sakura."_ His eyes narrowed slightly in acknowledgment of his situation and she abruptly moved to look over her shoulder. _"Good instinct." _He praised mentally, as he quickly pressed himself into the ground before she fully looked, but the sudden movement and rush of adrenaline shook him up. Itachi tried to fight the tension building in his diaphragm and the tightness in his chest, closing his throat painfully and crushing a hand over his mouth, holding his breath, but it was no use.

It always started like this.

A second later his self-control shattered and he coughed into his hand, loudly, hacking as his body shook with the force of the expulsion of air. _"Damn it all."_ he knew he'd be found now, there was no question in his mind. What to do though. He could hear her coming now, scaling the rocky face and climbing over the edge, and he quickly formed a plan in his head. It was risky, and he had to bank on his ability to intimidate her, but in all likelihood she would take the bait and he could possibly get something good out of their meeting.

The young kunoichi was bent over him now, her hands on his shoulders. She was saying something but he couldn't stop coughing long enough to listen, much less respond. He could feel it now, the bitter taste of blood was at the back of his throat and the thick feeling that accompanied the unwelcome fluid welled up within him. There was no holding it back though, and Itachi knew it, so he let it come, propping himself up on one side, looking away from the Haruno girl and spitting the bloody blob of phlegm onto the ground a couple of feet away. He retched and coughed again, this time in the back of his throat, calling up the rest of the sputum and he spat again, breathing hard afterward. Water. He wanted water badly, but he had more pressing matters to deal with. Authoritatively, Sakura grasped Itachi's shoulder and slowly turned him to face her, and Itachi closed his eyes, frantically struggling to draw chakra after his acute episode. He heard her gasp as she instantly recognized him, and just as she began to pull her hand away, his lids snapped open and he drew her into his genjutsu. Mangekyou Sharingan would sap too much precious strength at this point, but this would hold her for the time being. He cringed inwardly at the frightened, shocked look on her face before she slumped onto him, victim to his jutsu, but he knew now with surety that she would allow herself to be manipulated by him. He wasn't a vicious person, but there were things that he needed to do in order to die as planned, and getting hauled back to Konoha in this weak state wasn't one of them.

After giving himself a moment to recover, he gingerly slid out from under Sakura and dragged himself to his feet. He slouched over to the stream and washed his mouth out, spitting the now pink liquid onto the ground behind him, then drinking deeply of the narrow waterway. Itachi turned, spent, to the kunoichi who lay senseless on the ground and picked her up gently in his arms, pack and all, and walked slowly to the nearby building he called home, not for the first time thankful for its proximity to the river. Hopefully the medic would be out for the full hour this particular brand of genjutsu lasted.

He was going to need time to sort this one out.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I felt this was necessary, as I was beginning to get confused myself XD . Team 7 is about twenty-two at this point, close to 23. There you have it.

Thanks for all the beautiful reviews, they are wonderfully motivating, and make me feel that it is worthwhile for me to be posting here. :D

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 15 : Tercio de Varas_

Itachi sat quietly in the small mud-brick cottage, knees spread, back slouched into the hard rungs of the wooden chair. He stared discontentedly across the room at the kunoichi who lay across his small bed, her belongings taking up space in front of the wardrobe next to the bed. He could see the tip of his elbow and a few of the stray strands that framed his face in the mirror that was installed there, and his brow furrowed further in distaste.

He felt so weak.

Itachi looked back to the pinkette whose face appeared so peaceful and relaxed. All side effects of the genjutsu he had used on her of course. He almost felt a twinge of regret with regards to thrusting her into the situation they now shared, but he couldn't well enough allow her to leave Whirlpool after what she'd seen here. Sasuke would be on him faster than you could say "Uchiha", and his brother deserved a fight at least. Itachi was in a pitiful state and he knew it. He needed to be stronger to face Sasuke with a chance in hell to convey his message, and that chance was looking pretty cold at the moment.

Itachi decided that he had better take advantage of the time he had made for himself, so he rose languidly, and in one fluid motion he stepped up to the bed and looked down over the form of the trapped medic. His face betrayed no emotion as his gaze traced her pink hairline, her vulnerable neck, the striking lack of a tattoo on her creamy upper arm. He analyzed her build, she had a strong upper body it seemed, her arms were especially toned and from this angle he could see that her defined trapezius muscle bridged her spine and her shoulder delicately, effeminately. Her waist was only slightly slimmer than her ribcage, but her hips curved gently outwards. His line of sighed rested heavily on her hand and in that moment, the gravity of their situation multiplied tenfold and the ever-present weight on his shoulders augmented, causing them to physically slump.

"_Sasuke..."_

The fool. His harebrained plan was coming to light now, the chips falling loudly into place in Itachi's sharp, analytical mind. Of course he had known that Sasuke had been seeking him out, or at least trying to get information on him. Just as Sasuke had been attempting to keep tabs on his older brother, Itachi had been gathering information about Sasuke's whereabouts and activities over the years, with moderate success. Itachi sighed. It seemed as though his little brother was hell-bent on disappointing everyone around him, over and over.

A faint frown ghosted over Itachi's face like a dark cloud, and in that moment, Sakura tensed ever so slightly; her eyelids twitched noticeably and she couldn't stop the involuntary spasm in her hand as she awoke from the genjutsu.

"_Dammit."_ Sakura tried to keep her breathing calm and even, tried to gauge her predicament.

Itachi tensed in turn, the schooled, hard look returning to his face in anticipation of their imminent altercation.

After a fraction of a second, Sakura realized her captor was standing watch directly over her where she lay, he hadn't killed her yet. Another second went by and she realized he was even more tense than her, he had discerned that the genjutsu had been dispelled and Sakura deduced that there was no more point in hiding from him. So, she opened her eyes and slowly turned to face him while holding the rest of her body as still as possible.

"_No sudden movements..."_

Sakura looked Itachi straight in the eye, meeting his gaze with a challenging glare of her own, her look something akin to that of a cornered pit bull. Yes, she was terrified but she'd not back down from this man. Even though he had failed to cause her any harm that wouldn't break down her instinctive defensiveness, she'd fight until she died if she had to. At least she had enough sense to think twice and hold back her initial urge to lash out at him in a preemptive attack.

She wasn't _that_ rash.

Itachi stared her down intensely.

"Do you think that looking me in the eyes like that is such a good idea, kunoichi?" he half-whispered, breaking the tense silence. Sakura's breath caught in her throat and she realized her mistake, her mouth forming a small, surprised 'o'.

There was a reason she was a medic and not a combat specialist.

The corner of Itachi's mouth twitched downward disapprovingly. _"This will be easier than I thought."_ The kunoichi who had seemed ready to fight to the death a moment ago was now frozen in fear of his ultimate doujutsu. Itachi turned from her and sat back down in his chair tiredly crossing his arms, acknowledging that the pink-haired woman didn't pose any threat to him. Sakura slowly pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed, bending her knees and folding her legs over one another comfortably. She turned to look at her captor.

"_No chakra binds or seals. Minimal security on the building itself. I could crush it with a single blow. Yet he turns his back to me as though I were no more of a threat to him than a child."_ Sakura shook her brain for an explanation. _"Either he is immensely stupid and is underestimating me, or he is incredibly strong and really **does** have total control over the situation."_ Sakura bit her lower lip under his unwavering gaze. _"Probably the latter..."_

Finally the eldest Uchiha broke the silence again. "Why are you in Whirlpool?"

"_I won't betray Sasuke. He would never have sent me here if he knew that Itachi was the Akatsuki in Whirlpool."_

"I'm on a mission."

Itachi's eyes narrowed minutely. "Are you usually so careless on missions? I felt your chakra from a half-kilometer away."

Sakura couldn't fight the shame that painted itself across her face. She opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it.

"Someone in the bingo book should handle themselves with more care. Had anyone else found you, you would most certainly have been reduced to a head in a plastic sack by now. How you made it this far is beyond me."

Sakura hung her head as the tears stung behind her eyes. Here she sat, being berated by one of the greatest ninja of the decade and all she could do was cry. _"I'm so weak... anyone can see it."_ She closed her throat painfully to the sobs that sought to be voiced. Sakura's hands clenched into the material of her skirt angrily as she realized that she was indeed in the company of one of the greatest ninja to have ever lived in her village, and her heart sunk with a lurch into her stomach as her hope for escape dipped and extinguished like the flame of a dying candle.

"I really am on a mission..." Sakura whispered uncertainly.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What was your mission? Don't even think about not telling me." He finished as Sakura looked at him, wide-eyed again. The young woman struggled to find the words. "I was supposed to gather plants..." she choked out sorrowfully, hanging her head again.

"_Believable. But that's not the whole story."_ "Is that all?" Itachi's question hung in the air thickly as the seconds ticked by into a minute, then more. It seemed that she would not be so quick to mention her lover to the object of his revenge, but she didn't even realize that she had made the most blatant of mistakes in wearing her wedding ring on the mission. Not that she could have expected to run into Uchiha Itachi, but the symbol inscribed on the metal band was more than enough to notify any shinobi in her vicinity of her marriage. Itachi glared at her, disgusted with her ineptitude as her mistakes called themselves out to him one by one. Wandering alone in the unfamiliar rainforest. Donning her hitae-ate wherever she went. Failing to disguise her unique hair color. Jumping to the aid of a stranger in a secluded place after having already felt his eyes on her, without assessing the situation first. Traveling alone in a foreign land where Akatsuki was rumored to have been lurking. _"She's an idiot. This is what Konoha's next generation of jounin have to offer the shinobi world? What a joke."_ To top it all, she was very easily intimidated by his threats. He only hoped that her medical skills lived up to their reputation, otherwise he would certainly find himself in dire straits with unnecessary baggage. "I asked you a question." he reminded her darkly, standing up. She gaped at him, fearful again.

"That's a very pretty ring you're wearing." Itachi reached out to her clenched, sweaty hand, forcing it from her skirt slowly, methodically. Sakura began to shake. He held her limp hand tightly but not forcibly, turning the wedding band in between his forefinger and thumb. "Did someone give it to you? A friend? Or maybe... your lover?" He glanced at her as his thumb stroked the now upturned Uchiha crest on the ring and her mouth flew open, yet it was apparent that she had nothing to say in her defense.

Itachi fought the urge to smirk. It would be counter-productive for him to provoke her anger now. He had her where he wanted her; weak, pliable, uncertain. "Sakura, is it?" he murmured, and she felt the deep tenor of his voice reverberate lightly in her eardrums. "Haruno? or..." she gripped his hand for support now, on the verge of swooning. "Uchiha?" he whispered. The floodgates opened and his suspicions were confirmed. He released her hand and it immediately flew to her face to cover the tears there. Itachi wanted no part of her emotional outburst but needed to make the most of his current advantage.

"So Sasuke _did_ send you here, knowing that I was here, that I would probably find you." he spoke over her soft sobs, standing at arm's length, hands fisting in his pockets. His delivery was factual, emotionless, and he did not raise his voice despite his growing antipathy. "This goes beyond treason. He's betrayed his own wife, delivered you into my hands without a thought for your life, fully expecting me to kill you, just for a chance at leaving the village with a legitimate reason to hunt me down. If he's assigned such a mission, as he undoubtedly will be by your _Hokage_-" Itachi scoffed "then when he returns to the village it will be that much easier for him to find your replacement." he activated his sharingan, looking over the distraught kunoichi once more. "You're not even pregnant." he was slightly surprised by this. His brother had afforded this woman no insurance whatsoever. However, it was all so _Sasuke,_ ill-planned and selfish to the letter. "Do you have any idea for how long he may have been planning this?" The question was not rhetorical.

Sakura slowed her tears long enough to look at him. She was desperate. _"Good."_ Itachi may have been manipulating her into giving him the information he needed, but he realized that Sakura was currently, if temporarily, looking to him for explanations and agreeing with his earlier deductions. She was beginning to trust him, even if that trust was skewed by the irremediable situation she found herself in. He felt that he could trust her too, if only a little. He still needed to be aware, after all, he was a shinobi.

"H-he never let on..." she croaked. "He was always so focused on ANBU and when... when he took an interest in me..." she spoke brokenly now, through her renewed sobs, "I really thought he... he l-loved m-mee..." she wailed softly, her speech interrupted by the occasional sharp intake of breath. Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face there, crying relentlessly now. _"I feel so used, he was just using me the entire time. He is so focused on his revenge, everything we built together and all the love I felt for him... to him it meant nothing. **I** mean nothing. Again, I'm the stupid weak one that is left behind and thrown aside. I played right into his hands, walked right into his trap..."_

"_That long. He had planned it from the beginning then."_ Itachi really did frown now. How to break it to her? He was not a man of words. Itachi took the opportunity to sit down on the bed with her, albeit a good half-meter away from her. He sat silently as she worked out her emotions through her tears. Finally she seemed to have calmed enough for him to take the next step.

"I'm not saying this to bring you any more harm than you're already experiencing." Sakura raised her head and looked in his general direction, but he was sure her vision was still blurred by the thick tears that lingered in her eyes. "I feel that... it's my responsibility to inform you. If he's been so focused on achieving ANBU as opposed to reviving the clan, that can only mean one thing." It was so easy to speak when he was being analytical and the words were not just opinions, but facts. "He's been planning on hunting me down before reviving the clan for at least three years, and he would have used anyone to achieve his goal but you were his most convenient choice. Joining ANBU put him in a position out in the field, with dangerous criminals, where gathering information about me would be easy. It also gave him an excuse to distance himself from you and-" he faltered here "neglect his marriage." Itachi danced skillfully around the topic of her pregnancy- or lack thereof. Sakura nodded in agreement and understanding began to creep over her face, as well as a vague form of anger. "When the opportunity presented itself, all he had to do was convince you to travel near me some way or another, in hopes that I would have caught word of his nuptials." Itachi frowned. "Here is where I fail to understand his logic. His hopes were so high, yet I had no idea he had married. Also, the probability of me never knowing that you came anywhere near me is so high..." Sakura gasped at his honesty. "It was a blind, random chance that we met the way we did." Itachi shook his head lightly. Sakura was leaning toward him unconsciously now, interested. She remembered what she had seen right before falling to his genjutsu.

"What if he knew that you're..." Sakura whispered, eyes wide.

Itachi turned to her coldly. Obviously it was a sore subject for him. And he needed to ensure that he showed the girl as little weakness as possible. But her words made sense. _"That's his insurance, intentional or not."_ "It's a possibility we cannot rule out." he clipped. _"She's siding with me against Sasuke now."_ Itachi felt a faraway swell of satisfaction at his ability to convince her to believe him so easily, but it was child's play when he didn't even have to lie to her. He knew even the worst shinobi could smell a lie.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Sakura mumbled and Itachi saw a look of bitter remembrance flash across her face.

Itachi was skeptical. "Not many know." He kept the information he provided her with limited.

Sakura rounded on him after he spoke, as if she only just realized he was there. "And you? What _are_ you doing here?" she demanded.

"That's none of your concern." Itachi responded quickly, standing again, asserting himself.

"Isn't it?" Sakura retorted, suddenly brave. "You kept me alive for a reason, didn't you? It wasn't just to question me!" her confidence grew and she gazed intensely at him. "You've read my bingo entry. You know who I am. You _need_ me." her face shone from beneath the salty tear stains, fearless now that she knew he wouldn't kill or even hurt her.

"That's enough." Itachi reprimanded harshly, mouth drawing into a hard line, but the kunoichi didn't recoil. Instead, she stood. "Don't tell me you weren't thinking about it." Sakura said softly. It was her turn to be calculating. "I'll help you, but I need a good reason." she paused. "I want to know about the massacre."

Itachi turned away from her and stormed into the kitchen, struggling to maintain a calm demeanor. Sakura was left standing by the chair, feeling helpless. The small house was stifling under the suffocating awkward silence. Sakura broke it with another awkward sentence.

"What I mean to say is, it's nothing personal, well it is, but I need to know..." she started. "It's not about Sasuke, it's more..." she cocked her head. "Did you know the house is haunted?" Suddenly Sakura felt very silly as Itachi rounded on her, his face a stolid mask once more. But his tone betrayed his interest.

"Come again?"

Sakura's lips pursed as she carefully readied her next response. "Our house. It's haunted. There are... a number of spirits existing there."

Itachi shook his head incredulously. "That's not possible."

"Tell me that after the next time you go to the house."

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself. But I met them." Her words were unreal, but her eyes communicated her honesty to the long-haired Uchiha. "Shisui, your dad, and your mom, Mikoto." Itachi's face fell and he stared at the floor. Sakura lowered her voice concurrently. "I know it wasn't just to test your container, to test your strength, Itachi-san." He continued to stare listlessly at the floor, immobile._ "How could Sasuke tell her such a thing..."_ "That's right." Her voice softened even more. "I saw it all." Itachi fought the urge to look at her. His heart was pounding as it was. If he opened his mouth he'd be done for. Sakura stepped closer to her husband's brother. "Shisui showed me everything, from beginning to end. But I still don't-" Itachi had started to breathe heavily, tightly, through his mouth. _"Shisui."_ One of many topics he had tried to ignore and skirt around in his memory and speech for the last twelve years had finally come back to haunt him, and in his fragile state, it was too much. The room dipped and spun as he collapsed to his knees, supporting his upper body from falling onto the floor altogether with one arm. His other hugged his ribs tightly, trying to contain the pain there as though it might manifest itself and escape somehow. Itachi could feel his bronchial passages tightening again, his sore throat tensing and straining against the urge to cough again, yet once more Itachi proved no match for the sickness that crept up on him, and as he tried to hide his face in his shirt he felt the blood rise into his mouth again. He was aware of Sakura, painfully aware; and he knew (whether she did or not) that she could kill him at any moment. The most opportune time had presented itself, and through it she could discover one of the many weaknesses this godforsaken illness subjected him to. Emotionally, he was vulnerable, and had become more so as he felt he was nearing death. His natural mental reaction to his imminent death was to review his life.

And that had been painful.

All of these thoughts flashed through the Uchiha's head as he struggled for breath. Somehow, he had ended up on the floor anyway, blood dribbling from his mouth onto the floor. His crimson palm was tilted towards his face, beautiful in its own sick, sad way. Itachi drew his breaths shallowly, painfully as Sakura's firm hands ran over his torso with practiced professionalism.

"_Wait. What?"_

"Itachi-san. Itachi-san? Can you hear me? I need you to stay with me. Your heart rate is dropping and your blood-oxygen levels are falling. Listen to me!" he could feel her chakra now, invading his own highway, filling his sore chest with a comforting if unnerving warmth and he struggled to respond.

"This always happens." He half-whispered, half-croaked. "It will pass." he hardly mouthed the words.

"Ok." He could hear the relief in her brief response. "Keep telling yourself that." She was relieved and angry at the same time it seemed. _"How amusing."_ But Itachi's glassy eyes still stared at the dark red creases on his bright red palm, tracing them absently. "Listen. Your lungs are coming apart from the inside, they are about a quarter full of blood and fluid, you've got walking pneumonia and... something else." she wavered. Itachi smiled sadly. Sakura sounded so far away, and he felt so tired, so sleepy. Wouldn't it be so much easier to just rest and let the world go on hating? Yes... yes it would. He closed his eyes as he felt most of the pain leave him and embraced unconsciousness as it rushed to meet him.

Sakura continued to examine and repair his lungs as best as she could there on the floor. "You owe me one, Uchiha." she whispered, smiling. Itachi would be ok this time, but if he didn't get some rest and proper medical care he would be dead within the next couple of weeks. She needed more time to investigate as well. Sakura slowly withdrew her chakra and gently rolled Itachi over, scooping him up into her arms and carrying him to the bed where she covered him warmly, despite the sweltering weather. With the fever he was running he surely felt cold. She would get some water in a moment and cool him off, she thought before turning to look around the house for a bucket, or a tub.

She had kicked into full-on medic mode and was examining her patient's symptoms clinically now. _"Emotional stress triggered the attack. The coughing fits are acute, but he is suppressing them, god knows how, because with that much fluid in his lungs he should be coughing twenty times more than he is now."_ she stole a glance at the unconscious Uchiha as she continued to rummage around the house for a water-carrying solution. _"As soon as I mentioned Shisui he collapsed... that just proves that he's not the man he's made out to be. In combination with __**not**__ killing me, and, __however indirectly, asking for my help, its safe to say we are needed and trusted here." _She directed the thought to her alternative personality who just shrugged in response. _"I'm going to help him, at least I know I'm wanted here."_ Sakura sighed as she finally located a small metal tub in the bathroom and began to fill it with water from the tap, which she was ever grateful for. Sasuke would never speak with her as Itachi had, honestly, painfully, yet respectfully.

Strangely enough, she felt more at ease now than she had in the last three months.

* * *

><p>Naruto flew carelessly, tiredly across the rooftops of his village. The cold air whipped around his shoulders, but his hands and arms were well protected by the thick fleece and leather arm guards that were a standard part of his uniform. As soon as he had come in through the gate he'd twisted his mask over to the side of his head and taken to the roofs, and with each passing moment the Hokage tower grew larger. Naruto clenched a fist gently. He'd had to kill for this mission, more than once, to retrieve that scroll from Tori, but it was all worthwhile, right? He glanced across the sleepy village quickly. <em>"Yes. The safety of these people depends on it."<em> Naruto knew that he would kill, and so much more; he'd do whatever it took to protect the special people that shared Konoha with him. With a small burst of chakra he propelled himself the last five meters to the tower and used his chakra to adhere to the red building, shimmying up the side like a lizard and diving into Tsunade's office feet first. The old lady lay across the desk there, face down amidst papers and empty sake bottles. Wordlessly, Naruto shrugged his pack off of his shoulder and dug out the scroll, giving it a once-over. Hopefully it wasn't too blood-covered to mar the information it contained.

Naruto paused, standing in the middle of the room with his pack in one hand and the large scroll extended toward the village leader in the other. Even though he was dead on his feet, he knew better than to wake her. He stifled a yawn.

"_Fuck it."_

"Tsunade Obaa-chan..." he half-groaned. "Baaa-chan..."

"Mmmff..." came her muffled response, and a small rustle of paper could be heard.

"_Good, she's awakening slowly."_ Naruto grinned. It was better for everyone if she woke up slowly as opposed to being jarred awake by some unwitting jounin... or Kotetsu. _"Mission accomplished."_

"I'm back." he spoke at a normal volume this time.

Tsunade slowly extracted herself from her paperwork and looked around. "Naruto. Ohayo." she smacked her dry lips and inhaled deeply.

"SHIZUNE! OCHA!"Tsunade screamed at the door for her morning tea.

A faint "Haaai!" could be heard from a lower level.

Tsunade nodded sleepily and extended a hand for the scroll. "Thanks. Anything noteworthy happen while you were gone?"

"Nope." Naruto deadpanned. At least he didn't have to actually _write_ his mission report.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, huh?" Tsunade mumbled to herself, fingering the binding on the large roll of paper. "Well then I guess you can go."

Naruto nodded, but lingered for a couple more moments. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him and threw the scroll to her desk with a deadened thump.

"What now?"

Naruto yawned. "Is Sasuke around?"

"He's out."

"Oh. Ok." Naruto turned to leave, ready to hit the sack. "When will he be back?"

Tsunade sighed and leaned back. Naruto froze and turned slowly to face her.

After a few moments he voiced his concern. "He finally went after Itachi?"

Tsunade chuckled darkly. "Not exactly. I'm sure he wishes that's what he were out doing." She shook her head, looking directly at Naruto now. "He's in Sound with Kakashi, hunting the Snake."

"Oh." Naruto seemed disappointed and an awkward silence filled the office._ "After the info we got from the last guy I thought for sure he'd be on Itachi's trail by now."_ Naruto's brow furrowed in deep thought.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunade interrupted his train of thought.

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's just unexpected is all. Sakura-chan must be lonely. I'll go visit her tomorrow then."

Tsunade blinked. "She's not here either."

Naruto turned from the window to look at the Hokage. "Where is she? You haven't sent her on a solo mission in... years?" Naruto glared sleepily at Tsunade, waiting for an answer.

"Full of questions this morning, are we?" Tsunade griped, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. "She got to Whirlpool yesterday, I got her hawk earlier this morning. If you must know, I'm exhausted because I was up all night waiting for it!" Tsunade put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Naruto. He stared at her, wide-eyed, disbelieving. Tsunade misinterpreted the look on his face. "She's a strong kunoichi, she'll be fine. You people are always underestimating her!" the blonde ranted. "Besides she's not even really on a mission, she's on a vacation from her prick husband Sasuke! It was his suggestion to begin with, really those two need some time apart, maybe when they come back from their _vacations_ they'll have worked it all out!" Tsunade turned on her heel and stormed out in search of her infuriatingly late tea, muttering loudly about something like 'peacetime' and 'vacations' and 'marital problems' and 'thank god I never made such a stupid mistake in my lifetime'.

Naruto stood frozen in the Hokage's office tensely, processing everything he had just heard. It took him a few moments but by the time he had pieced it together he was shaking with worry and more than a little anger. He wasn't smart, and he didn't really understand why, but Sakura-chan was in the same place as Itachi and the Teme had made it so. With a renewed burst of energy, he suddenly turned and flung himself out of the Hokage's window and back out onto the rooftops, tearing northwards, calling after the quarry he now hunted with near blood lust.

"Sasuke!"


	16. Chapter 16

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 16 : The Outsider_

Naruto's feet thrummed rhythmically on each branch he passed. The cold wind whipped through his hair as he pushed northwards to Wind, but it didn't bother him.

He was furious.

"_How could the Teme put Sakura-chan in danger? After we all promised to protect her! It was on purpose! Why would he do it?" _Naruto blazed through the trees without hesitating. Every moment counted, every second was a second longer that Sakura-chan was in danger. Frankly, as far as Naruto was concerned, Orochimaru could wait. A few more hours, and he'd be crossing into Sand, from there he'd track them through the desert. Hopefully the wind didn't wipe their traces away from the ever-changing sand, but if it did Naruto knew who he could turn to for help.

Several hours later the sun was sinking on the horizon and Naruto jumped down from amongst the trees to search for clues. He wasted a moment looking left and right, feeling the sharp prickle of sand on his skin, carried by the eternal wind. It was evident immediately that no trace of either Sasuke nor Kakashi would survive this weather. Dunes stretched out endlessly before him but Naruto could find his way to the former Jinchuuriki without a map in any weather. Shaking his head softly, he took off again on a chakra-fueled dash.

"_Two more hours."_ he chanted to himself, never thinking of resting. Every major muscle in his body burned in protest of the torture he was putting himself through physically, but Naruto merely focused on his goal, willing himself to run. On that principle his body continued in its repetitive motion like a machine, one foot in front of the other, arms pumping at his sides and chest heaving breath after cold breath without faltering. He felt as though Sakura-chan's fate rested on his shoulders, on his ability to find Sasuke before it was too late and something happened to their important friend.

He pushed on despite the depressing knowledge that he would have to spend the night in Suna. Even he, with his unstoppable will of fire, could not brave the uncharted desert wastes at night. Finally he crested the last sandy berm and was greeted by the subdued lights of the Village Hidden in the Sand. With an inward sigh of relief he jogged to the gate and spoke his first words since that morning.

"I need to speak with the Kazekage." he half-demanded of the jounin guarding the gate. The guard looked Naruto over carefully.

"Your purpose?"

The other guard held his hand out to the first. "This is Uzumaki Naruto." he smiled faintly at the blonde in recognition. "The one who fought Pein."

The first guard took another look at Naruto and then nodded. "You may not be granted an audience immediately, the Kazekage is very busy with other ma-"

"I don't care." Naruto's tiredness was catching up with him, with every second he stood at the gate another increment of sleepiness crept up on him. The second guard opened the gate wordlessly and Naruto trudged heavily to the Kazekage's building in the middle of the village. Sand blew on the cold wind that whipped in between the dome-shaped edifices of the hidden village, but Naruto fought against the urge to turn away and find an inn for the night. This needed to be handled now, he could sleep later. He walked slowly to the large official building of his destination and let himself in.

"_Lucky."_

There was no receptionist at the front desk, the place was empty save for two presences in the upstairs quarters and four Sand ANBU on the roof. Tiredly, but without hesitating Naruto headed for the stairs and trudged up them. He didn't even have to knock before the door at the top flew open, revealing a surprised but welcoming Gaara.

"Naruto..." he trailed.

Naruto made eye contact with his friend but said nothing as he walked into the room and made a beeline for one of the comfortable-looking chairs there. He barely acknowledged Temari's presence, sending her a half-hearted smile and a wave of his hand. He sat heavily, throwing his head back and his feet out. Gaara sat in the accompanying chair, elbows resting on his knees. He eyed Naruto with a look of guarded worry, and said nothing.

"Where can I start?" Naruto sounded worried and frustrated. "It's about Sakura-chan."

Gaara's brow shifted in confusion. A few more moments passed in silence. Finally, Naruto gripped his hair in his hands, pulling it lightly and grunting.

"I'm so stupid! I don't know why this is happening! I need your help."

"I assumed as much." the usually tacit sand user replied. Naruto sat up straighter and faced the redhead. "OK then, I'll tell you the whole story. I know I can trust you Gaara." And so Naruto launched into a description of Sasuke and Sakura's marriage, Sasuke's change for the better and then sudden change for the worst, their ANBU assignments and the information gathering. He told Gaara about the rumor of Itachi staying in Whirlpool, and brought him up to speed by relaying the information that Tsunade had shared with him that morning to Gaara.

"None of it makes sense! I come back and Sasuke is gone. Sakura is in Whirlpool." The blonde threw a sad, sidelong glance at his friend. "What if she's already dead? What if I'm too late?"

Gaara thought about Naruto's story for a few moments.

"You should have told Tsunade instantly instead of wasting time coming here." Naruto blanched. "However, I see your reasoning, or-" Gaara blinked at Naruto "lack thereof. By going after Sasuke you have a better chance of resolving this. Whether or not Sakura is dead is not our foremost concern right now. We have no concrete evidence, no documentation that points us in the direction of Sasuke's betrayal, but the odds are in your favor. He's betrayed your village once before, and he is, beyond a doubt, bound and determined to kill his brother." Gaara stood and walked to the window slowly. "If he truly contrived some plan to send Sakura to her death at the hands of his brother, you may have just uncovered his... _protection_ if you will." Gaara looked at the frustrated and bewildered shinobi behind him. "If nothing else, he covered his tracks very carefully and, above all, trusted you not to betray him. Sasuke trusted that you would place your friendship above all else as you have in the past. Maybe he even went so far as to underestimate you, not believing you capable of piecing together his plot." Gaara shook his head and Naruto stood as well, looking hopefully to the Kazekage's back, beseeching him for an explanation. "But from what you told me about his behavior, we also have to take into account that he may not have wanted to send her to his brother, but rather felt it was his only option. Sasuke is known for his bull-headedness, much like yourself." Gaara's lips twitched upward wryly. "And we also cannot rule out that Sakura knows about the plan and went willingly to meet her fate." Gaara met Naruto's wide-eyed gaze. "Don't be so surprised. You know she would do anything for him." Naruto shook his head, crestfallen.

"I can't believe this. I never thought of all of these possibilities. They would do that, and leave me out of it? You think?" Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Gaara shook his head as well. "That I cannot answer you, Naruto. But lastly, what if Sasuke counted on Itachi _not_ killing her, but keeping her captive? As an excuse to request a rescue mission that hopefully included you? Of course, it would still be appropriate for him to request a mission to hunt down his wife's killer. With a grieving widower on her hands, what else can your Hokage do? She will grant him his request, no matter how much she wants to assign someone else to the mission." Gaara was gazing out over his beloved village again.

Naruto's shoulders slouched sadly and his downcast face was drawn in an effort to fight the emotions that fought inside of him at the thought of Sakura as a captive of Akatsuki. If the organization had her, he would never be allowed on the rescue mission. His throat closed painfully as the tears stung his eyes.

Gaara continued on after a short, strangling silence. He imparted the last of his deductions, of his advice quietly. They were words of comfort.

"Sasuke's plan is fairly-well thought out indeed, except for one minute detail that could cost him the whole plan, but save Sakura's life." he turned to look at Naruto again, who lifted his head to meet the ex-Jinchuuriki's eyes. He was hopeful again, counting on Gaara to say the words that would keep him going.

"Really now, what is the probability that Sakura will meet Itachi on this trip? Whirlpool is rather a large country, with few shinobi. She's there to gather plants and help at the clinic, and otherwise relax?" Gaara's eyes scanned Naruto's face questioningly. "Doesn't sound very likely that she'll be crossing paths with Akatsuki unless she's out there looking for them. I wouldn't over-react now because of a slim chance that Sasuke has some intense plan that he's been working out for years, or a slim chance that Itachi _might_ run into Sakura in a country of some 380,000 people total." he slowly and reassuringly placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I think Sakura will be fine." Naruto almost sighed, but Gaara continued on, his eyes hardening exiguously. "But I also think you are doing the right thing."

Temari huffed, hopping off of the Kazekage's desk smoothly.

"I never liked that guy. Do me a favor, Naruto-kun." she approached the pair, glowering angrily.

"Kick his ass."

* * *

><p>Well-rested and well-fed, Naruto started off in the morning with a clear plan in mind and a pack full of provisions. Gaara had notified him of Sasuke and Kakashi's mission plan and directed him up through River into Sound. Naruto was thankful, but had to ask the Sand Kage for one more favor. He had asked Gaara to swear to silence on the matter. However, in return he had promised to contact Tsunade once he had worked things out with Sasuke. Naruto was very glad for the fact that Kakashi was on the mission with Sasuke as well, otherwise there would be no way out of the predicament except for a colossal fight. Resolutely, Naruto flew through the desolation of Wind country to River, where with a little difficulty he managed to perceive Kakashi and Sasuke's trail. He lost it once in a canyon, but after the faint scent of charred wood crossed him, he knew they had traversed it. He plowed on through River, heading north for another day, and then the trail turned quite fresh, just as the thick forest gave way to the rocky terrain marking the beginning of Sound. With not a little nervousness, Naruto was forced to slow considerably as the trail, though fresh, grew scant. Rocks were difficult to track through, and if it hadn't been for Naruto's decent sense of smell and the occasional remnant of chakra left behind by Sasuke, he would have lost it altogether. Ultimately he reached the point where he had to mask his chakra and track slowly so as not to be noticed. The sun was again hanging low in the sky, ready to give over to the night, but darkness already shrouded the unfamiliar territory Naruto was navigating due to the now black clouds that covered the sky. Thankfully, he now had a good idea of his objectives' location and he silently crept among the dry boulders to the area of the campsite, masking all of the Kyuubi's chakra as best as he could. He peered carefully around a particularly large, jagged mass of granite and espied Sasuke and Kakashi's tiny campsite. The copy-nin already lay in his bedroll, and Naruto's pale friend poked at the dying fire gently with a long stick. His face was pulled into a deep frown.<p>

Naruto fought the urge to flank the area and hit Sasuke in the back of the head as hard as he could. Instead he went back over his plan in his head, and hoped he'd have the presence of mind not to screw up once he started talking. He hated to wake Kakashi-sensei up for this, but...

Naruto stepped slowly out from behind the rocks and walked straight toward Sasuke, metering his steps and balling his hands into tight fists underneath his cloak. Sasuke whipped his head up to look at the approaching shinobi and his mouth opened slightly in shock. Naruto's gaze remained unwavering, stoic, serious. And Sasuke knew that Naruto knew. He rose to his feet and shut his mouth, and soon the boys stood face to face, not three feet from each other.

Sasuke broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?" he murmured.

And everything that Naruto was fighting flowed forth as the dam that held his emotions in check broke; for Sakura-chan, for Temari, for everything he stood for, Naruto sent his fist sailing into Sasuke's gut. Kakashi only had time to pick up his head and watch it happen, it was so quick and unexpected, Naruto was standing there and the next moment Sasuke was doubled over in pain, clutching his middle and gasping for breath. Kakashi leapt out of bed and grabbed Naruto roughly, pushing him away from the Uchiha.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi's hiss echoed Sasuke's initial question.

Naruto didn't struggle against his former sensei, he only glared angrily at Sasuke. In his world, nothing else existed.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Kakashi shook Naruto's shoulders and met his unseeing eyes, eyes that had adopted a red hue in the blonde's rage. "Naruto!" Kakashi's voice was slightly raised, rough, but the seasoned shinobi was still mindful of the circumstances of their mission. Behind him, Sasuke picked himself up gingerly from the ground, wincing, still breathless. He spat and swore. "The fuck is wrong with you?" Sasuke whispered harshly, sharingan blazing.

"Put that away!" Kakashi didn't bother to look over his shoulder, and Sasuke obliged immediately but still eyed Naruto warily.

"Don't play stupid with me." Naruto spoke in a low voice laced with malice. Kakashi slowly let Naruto go, but stayed near him. "You'd better have a good fucking explanation or I'll make good on my promise you bastard."

Sasuke clenched his teeth and held his ground. "What are you talking about?"

An instant later, faster than Kakashi could see, much less react to, Naruto was on top of Sasuke, throttling him. Sasuke was struggling to get his hands under Naruto's, his legs kicking desperately as his body writhed and twisted against his attacker's.

"Why is Sakura in Whirlpool?" Naruto spat the words into Sasuke's face, mere inches of air separating the two. Sasuke's breaths rasped in his throat and finally he drove his fingers into Naruto's arm, hitting a pressure point and weakening his hold. Sasuke threw Naruto off and spun to straddle his teammate, throwing punches into Naruto's face. The bunshin exploded under him just as Naruto delivered a strong kick to Sasuke's exposed side, sending him crashing into a tree a few feet away with a crack. Kakashi had caught up to their speed and grabbed Naruto again.

"Stop. Now. You're compromising the mission." Kakashi spoke with deadly intent.

Naruto didn't struggle. "This is between me and Sasuke."

"And this is not the time nor place." Kakashi murmured.

Sasuke was picking himself up again, this time it didn't look like he'd be letting go of his ribcage.

"I won't stop until he explains himself." Naruto asserted just as quietly.

Sasuke wheezed a little, then with a struggle he stood upright. "Sakura is on vacation."

"Don't fuck with me." Naruto threatened. "I don't give a fuck about your mission. You promised to help us protect Sakura-chan. Why did you send her to Whirlpool? You knew Itachi was there." Naruto whispered his accusation. Kakashi let go of Naruto abruptly, as if it burned to touch the young man. "Don't play stupid, Sasuke. I heard what that guy said as you were chopping his fingers off, one by one." A drop of blood trailed from one of Naruto's fists and dripped onto the ground.

Sasuke changed his stance to a loose one fit for fighting. "That's confidential mission information you're releasing."

"Fuck you." Naruto muttered. "What he said about Itachi had nothing to do with our mission. You knew your brother was in Whirlpool, two days later you sent Sakura-chan on a _vacation_ there and now you're trying to cover your ass by pretending you don't know what I'm talking about." Naruto glowered. "You think I'm stupid, but you're wrong. I see through your plan. I hope to Kami that she doesn't run into Itachi. But if she does, did you stop to think about the consequences?" Naruto was shaking now, and Kakashi was eyeing the Uchiha incredulously. Kakashi was not one to jump to conclusions but if what Naruto was saying was true...

Sasuke frowned, straightening. It looked like Naruto was ready to stop hitting and start talking.

Naruto looked at the ground, hiding the tears he could not stop. "What if Akatsuki takes her instead of just Itachi? What if they rape her?" Sasuke's mouth dropped open now. "What if they torture her, slice her up, what if your brother uses his doujutsu on her?" the tears flowed freely now, and Naruto choked on his sadness, he felt so desperate. Kakashi was at a loss, dumbfounded, it was one of the few times in his life he found himself confronted with information overload. Too much, too fast. "What if they kill her, have you pictured it? Life without Sakura? Have you pictured her dead body lying half-buried, decaying in a hole somewhere? Do you think she deserves that?" Naruto wiped his face on his arm covering.

Sasuke's shoulders slumped in acceptance. Kakashi looked down to see that he too was shaking uncontrollably.

Naruto looked up into Sasuke's eyes.

"What have you done?"

It seemed as though Sasuke had nothing to say for himself. He slumped onto the ground onto his knees, hanging his head. Naruto slowly calmed himself and walked over to the dark-haired young man, sitting on the cold ground next to him. Kakashi followed suit, but sat on his bedroll instead.

"There had to be another way." Naruto finally whispered. "You're not alone. You don't have to do things alone. I promised you I'd help you find him, help you track him, and that I'd bring you home after the fact. Remember?" Sasuke met Naruto's gaze tentatively, ashamed. The hurt in Naruto's eyes hurt him, Sasuke hurt deep inside, in his core. His chest felt tight and he felt..._ wrong_. He felt like someone had ripped something from within him and he knew instinctively that it couldn't be replaced, because it had been he who did it. Silently, for the second time since the massacre, Sasuke's heart broke and he lowered his face into his hands and cried, tears pouring from his eyes. His frame shook with each quiet sob and his throat and chest were sore with the heavy sorrow that pooled there. Sasuke knew that his tears wouldn't fix a damned thing, but there was nothing left for him to do.

He had failed again. He had failed himself, his teammates, his family and his wife. He had broken their vows and destroyed the love and peace he and Sakura had both worked so hard to achieve. He had betrayed his village as well, if Sakura died, that meant that there would be people in the hospital dying for lack of proper medical care. His actions had bearing on so many people other than him, but he had never given them a thought, always focusing on Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke hunched over, smearing his face into the ground in his anguish, digging his fingers into the dirt, breathing heavily into the earth.

Finally his tantrum subsided and he lay still on the ground, spent.

"I don't deserve to live." he mouthed as another stray tear trickled down the side of his face to his ear.

Naruto shook his head. "Don't say that." the unshed tears shown in his eyes as well. _"He does love her. At least there's that, except it doesn't mean anything now. It's too late."_ "Sakura might be ok. You need to be strong for her. And as soon as we are done killing Orochimaru, we are going to go get her. That is, if she's not waiting for us back in the village." Naruto fought to smile, if only a little. "What are the chances of her running into Itachi anyway?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He had never thought of that. Maybe Sakura was ok. There was still hope. She might never meet his brother and she might be just fine, Whirlpool was a pretty big country, and it _was_ unlikely that they'd cross paths, much less that Itachi would spare her a second glance even if he did see her. His gross miscalculation could be a blessing in disguise. Sasuke picked himself up from the ground slowly.

"I hope she's ok." he whispered hoarsely.

A serious silence blanketed the camp for several minutes. Eventually, Kakashi spoke.

"Looks like I'm back to babysitting you."

Sasuke didn't even bother sending the older ANBU a glare. He merely nodded, resigned to his fate and grabbed his pack, unrolling his sleep gear.

He knew that he'd pay for this mistake one way or another, and he'd better prepare for it because this time...

He wasn't going to run away.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Sorry for the short chapter. Sometimes that's how they come out.

And... wow. 80 reviews? OMG thank you guys so much!

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 17 : Always_

Sasuke and Naruto slept soundly in their bedrolls, Naruto's breaths puffing visibly in the freezing morning air. Sasuke lay on his stomach as usual, face cradled in his arms. Kakashi stared at the young men sadly. Fate was cruel indeed, but it seemed that Sasuke always managed to make things worse than they already were.

Dark clouds still loomed overhead, and the area was very quiet; a pregnant silence blanketed the forest. Kakashi disrupted it by standing lazily, small rocks sliding about quietly under his shoes. He walked over to his boys, treading softly, and crouched next to them.

"Sasuke. Naruto." he whispered. Naruto's eyes slowly fluttered open and with a deep sigh he rolled out of his makeshift bed. Sasuke picked up his head and looked around, bleary-eyed. The copy-nin was slightly surprised to see the young man's eyes so red and puffy, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't appreciate any commentary he had to offer so he let it go. Either way, it was time to send word to Tsunade, as Naruto had promised the Sand Kage. Naruto didn't want to incriminate Sasuke just yet, they couldn't confirm that anything had gone wrong despite the sinking feeling they shared. Kakashi insisted that a shinobi's gut feeling was often his best resource. But Naruto was adamant that they send her only the most necessary of information. Sasuke said nothing as his teammates debated his fate, staring listlessly at his breakfast. Finally Kakashi and his former student came to an agreement, and sent a sullen Pakkun on his way to Konoha with a simple note:

"_Akatsuki in Whirlpool."_

It would take the ninken a good three to four days to deliver the message, but it would surely prompt Tsunade to check up on her favorite student.

* * *

><p>Sakura lifted the lid on the pot where she was boiling Itachi's tea. Two days of ingesting the bitter herbal infusion and he was already looking better, his pain noticeably relieved by her addition of willow to the brew. His soup was also waiting on a makeshift tray (it was really a cookie sheet). She had boiled beef bones with marrow down into a rich broth, to which she added various vegetables, herbs and noodles. She grabbed a potholder and carefully tilted the pot over his mug, inhaling the bitter aroma of the tea.<p>

And Itachi watched her as usual. Sakura picked up the tray and brought it over to her patient as he scooted into an upright position and took it from her. At least he was able to eat on his own. That was one less worry for Sakura, but he was going to need something more than healthy food and tea to help him fight his illnesses. Itachi spooned his soup up mechanically, forcing himself to eat despite his lack of appetite. Sakura fixed herself a small bowl of the same and joined him, sitting on the wooden chair at his bedside. Finally, he gulped his now lukewarm tea quickly, never flinching at the strong herbal flavor. Sakura smiled faintly, satisfied, and collected his dishes, her own bowl and spoon joining them in the sink. She went back over to Itachi and he leaned forward, allowing her to place a hand on his back. This had become routine over the last few days. He sighed with relief as her warm chakra forged its way into his chest. She frowned but continued to heal the newly ruptured blood vessels there, and her mouth opened in shock as she recognized the telltale signs in his bronchial passages as her hands shifted upwards.

"Itachi-san, you have an infection." she deadpanned. Itachi tried to hide his disappointment.

"It's not the first."

"I can see that." Sakura murmured as she pulled her hand away slowly, and Itachi leaned back. "You're going to need more than tea to fix this. The humidity and altitude here aren't helping your other condition either." Sakura still wasn't sure what his other problem was, but she was wracking her brain trying to figure it out.

Itachi nodded and looked at her expectantly, yet gratefully. "What can we do?"

Sakura shook her head. "We need to move you to a place with a higher altitude, a drier location, but we can't leave Whirlpool until your infection and your pneumonia clear up completely..." she looked to him pleadingly. "I want to get you some tetracycline. I can't make it for you. I don't have a lab and I don't have any time to waste. But I can write and fill you a prescription."

Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"I won't abandon you, Itachi-san." Sakura grasped his hand tightly, reassuringly, and her eyes met his. "I won't leave until... until this is over."

Itachi didn't know how to react to her outburst so he said nothing. It was comforting to have her touching his hand, after so many lonely years he welcomed the platonic contact. His eyes softened. There had been many opportunities for her to kill him in the last few days, yet she continued to help him. She fed him, helped him bathe, and generally kept him company. When he coughed she soothed him with chakra and tea, when he was cold she'd cover him and check his temperature and when he was feeling restless she'd help him outside for some fresh air.

Itachi nodded, finally ready to speak.

"You could go to the market again. I should be alright for a few hours." he paused. "I'm sure your Shishou would like to hear from you." his face fell slightly.

"It'll be ok. We want her to know I'm ok." Sakura smiled despite the worry she felt. Itachi was always thinking of others before himself. It was strange, yet sweet. "Sorry though, I'll have to cut up some more willow bark for her."

Itachi frowned but said nothing. Sakura's smile also faded. "Speaking of that I was thinking of picking up something a little stronger for your pain." she suggested gently.

"That won't be necessary." his statement was assertive. Sometimes he could prove to be just as stubborn as his little brother, even laid up the way he was. _"The last thing I need is to be drugged up on top of being weak."_

"Okay." she agreed quickly. "Did you need anything else before I head out?"

Itachi shook his head and sent a small smile her way. "I'll be fine."

Sakura gathered up her bag and took one last look at her invalid patient before closing the door to the cottage securely and heading toward the willow trees, then to the town. She stopped at the aviary first, dying to get a letter out to Tsunade. Itachi had proven to her over and over that he was a good person without saying anything at all, and Sakura felt safe with him. She couldn't possibly communicate any of this to Tsunade, but she did want her Shishou to know that she was alive and well despite Sasuke's plan. Then again, Tsunade didn't know about the plan, did she? Sakura smirked as she seized a pen and stationary from the small writing desk in the aviary.

"_Tsunade-sama,"_

"_I've been doing well here in Whirlpool, the scenery is beautiful. You should come here sometime after you make Naruto Hokage. Haha."_

"_Enclosed is a package with the bark you requested."_

"_I know I am supposed to be heading back to Konoha in two weeks. However, there is a patient here with a severe condition who needs help. I'm not familiar with the condition, but his lungs are deteriorating rapidly despite my attempts to heal him. I don't know how this could be related, but he has also been very sick several times this year already. He had pneumonia when I met him, and I'm helping him overcome that. Now he has bronchitis, though. After examining him I've determined that he has a history of chronic respiratory problems in addition to possibly some kind of immunodeficiency disorder."_

"_Any ideas?"_

"_Anyway, I would like to try to help this man while I'm here and possibly stay until he's stable. He's 27 years old, 178cm tall, 52 kg. No skin lesions, no cancer, no eating disorders, not a smoker or a drug user, and he was very fit at one point."_

"_Thank you for looking into (or getting someone to look into) this for me."_

"_If you need anything else let me know. Too bad I can't send a biopsy by bird, but I can use the lab at the clinic- maybe."_

"_Send my love to Sasuke and Naruto. I miss you all terribly and can't wait to come home, once I'm done here of course."_

"_Warmest regards,"_

"_Sakura Uchiha"_

Sakura rolled up the two pages and tied them to the biggest red-tailed hawk in the place. She fastened the small package of willow bark to a leather harness intended for that purpose on his back. The majestic animal almost looked grateful to her as he flew off with a cry into the sky. Sakura felt surprisingly lighthearted all of a sudden. Smiling brightly, she penned Itachi's prescriptions for tetracycline and dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and nearly skipped to the pharmacy.

Life was beautiful.

* * *

><p>Two days later Tsunade was standing on top of the Hokage tower, surveying her village. Every so often, her eyes would dart to the horizon hopefully, yet her lips remained pursed in her perpetual frown. Shizune clopped up the stairs that wound around the back of the building, pig in tow and warily approached the Hokage. She stopped just beside the busty woman and set Ton-ton down with a small exhalation of breath. Sticking her hands in her sleeves, she joined her teacher in her activity of village-watching.<p>

"Naruto is gone."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "I thought something was off. Where is he?"

Shizune faltered. It _was_ normal for him to have a little bit of a longer break after coming home from a long mission, but soon there would be more for him to do. "Well, no one knows."

"Tch." Tsunade shook her head, sending her bangs into her face. "Damned kid. He's lucky it's peacetime. I can afford not to have him here right now."

Shizune's eyes narrowed and she turned her head slightly towards the Hokage, but said nothing. A cold breeze blew in between them.

"So... where is he?"

"With Sasuke, of course." Tsunade sighed. "Those two are inseparable. As soon as I told him Sakura wasn't here and Sasuke was in Sound I'm sure he bolted."

Shizune's mouth dropped open in shock. "Did you at least tell Hinata?"

Tsunade turned on her apprentice. "Do I look like cupid's messenger to you? I'm the Hokage!" she stepped closer to the senbon-user who was now quivering. "I've got a village to run!" her hand swept across the sky in gesture to the populace who depended on her. "Why don't you go tell her? Here, I'll make it official." she put her hands on her hips and looked down to Shizune, eyes flashing. "It's your first official D-class mission in twenty years. Go tell Hinata the whereabouts of Uzumaki Naruto, but do not disclose any details of his mission to her." She smiled and Shizune sweat-dropped. "Of course that means that Naruto is an official part of Kakashi and Sasuke's mission now."

Shizune drew herself together and stood tall, saluting the fair woman. "H-hai!" She spun, scooping Ton-ton into her arms and dashed down the stairs, wiping non-existent tears from her eyes in a show of drama.

"She's so cruel!"

"Pui!"

Meanwhile Tsunade had resumed her original posture, arms crossed in front of her, her ample breasts resting on said arms. Suddenly, a dark spot on the horizon caught her eye, and from its trajectory she could see it was heading straight for her. She smirked knowingly. _"Right on time."_ As the bird neared her she could see that it was laden with a small package accompanied by a relatively small scroll. She stepped forward cooly to meet the bird just as it landed on the railing, cocking its head and staring at her inquisitively with its beady eyes. Authoritatively, she unstrapped the package and took the paper off of the bird, noting that it was actually two rolled up sheets, not a scroll. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, then shooed the bird away as she unrolled the now curly paper and devoured Sakura's letter. As she walked back to her office to compose her response she re-read the letter carefully. This young man (young in _her_ eyes) certainly had quite the symptoms. It was clear to Tsunade that Sakura was being modest, after reading through the symptoms Tsunade was sure the man suffered from an immunodeficiency disorder, possibly a genetic one since he did not display any of the symptoms that manifested themselves with AIDS or cancer. Low white blood cell count? No white blood cell count? Sakura should test this and deduce from there... Tsunade grabbed a pen and some stationary.

"_Sakura-chan,"_

"_Check the man's white blood cell count. I'm sending you a microscope, I don't trust the clinic has any equipment like we have here, and I know that you will need something better than 10 or 20x to see such things. While you're at it check his lungs for bacteria. The symptoms described in your letter don't concur with tuberculosis nor cancer. At least I know that you can get the man the antibiotics he needs there. He must also be in a great deal of pain, I'd prescribe morphine for it along with a cough suppressant. If he coughs it will undo the healing you've done so far, and it will accelerate his condition."_

Tsunade chewed the end of her pen thoughtfully.

"_From his background I'm sure that his problem must be genetic. If he has no white blood cells, which is highly unlikely (most of those kinds of patients don't make it past 13) his condition would be Agammaglobulinemia. More likely, the condition truly began to manifest itself at a later age, around eleven or twelve, and is merely a low white blood cell count, hypo-gammaglobulinemia. Very little study has been conducted on these conditions, but there was one family in Konoha known to purport sufferers of these conditions, probably due to their tendency to breed within their clan. Thankfully no one else marries their second cousins anymore. Ha. At least the Hyuugas have the branch family. The Uchihas were quite... exclusive in their choice of partners. Sasuke's parents would have been most displeased with his decision to marry you. Haha."_

"_Anyway, back to the topic at hand, the Uchihas were the only ones in Konoha known to have suffered from such an infirmity, and as you are so intimately familiar with their dispositions you can imagine that little to no study was conducted on the few that were impacted. Conclusively, I have no treatment regimen or otherwise to provide you with. Just a name for the condition. Feed him well, teach him to cook for himself. He'll suffer with this for the rest of his life, if he survives this. At most, I'd give him another three to five years before he succumbs to the malady."_

Tsunade frowned, but it was true. Yes, she was being clinical, but what else could she do? Death was as much a part of their profession as life.

"_I'm sure Sasuke and Naruto would send their love back to you, but they are currently on a classified mission. I can't tell you the details but I will tell you as soon as I told Naruto that you were in Whirlpool and Sasuke was out he flew out the window to find Sasuke. You should be worried for your husband."_

Tsunade smirked again.

"_Since they cannot send their love you'll have to do with mine. We miss you here, but if you need extra time to handle this case then take what you need. I don't know when Sasuke will be back, and there's nothing to do in Konoha anyway."_

"_Enjoy the beach or I'll report you to the council as a missing-nin,"_ she joked, and signed the letter with her huge, loopy Hokage's signature:

"_Tsunade-hime, Godaime Hokage."_

She folded up the thick official stationary and shoved it in an envelope which she sealed officially, just for the hell of it. She headed to her shelf and grabbed her personal microscope which, though functional, had served as a decoration for her office for the last few years. She pulled it's box, full of accessories, from the bottom shelf and packed the equipment neatly after dusting it off slightly. Finally, with flair the bit into her thumb and formed the handseals for kuchiyose-no-jutsu rapidly, slamming her hand, fingers splayed, into the floor.

Immediately, the Rottweiler-sized slug twisted its invertebrate neck to look at her summoner.

"Hai! Tsunade-sama!"

"Ryouku! Take this package to Sakura! I need you to teleport! This is very important!"

"Hai!" The green and blue iridescent slug seemed to perk its 'ears' at her command. Tsunade stuffed the letter into the microscope box and set it on the Slug's back. "Thank you!" Tsunade called to the slug and, with that notice, the slug disappeared with a _pouf_.

Moments later, just as Tsunade was getting ready to sit back into her chair and attack the paperwork that awaited her on her desk, an unmistakeable faint scratching could be heard at the door.

"_Kakashi!" _the thought flashed through her head and she strode to the door speedily, flinging it wide. Pakkun sat patiently with a tired look on his face. Then again, when did Pakkun _not_ look like he'd rather be lying in a grassy meadow, asleep in the sunshine.

"Tsunade-sama." he half-grumbled. "Message from Kakashi and Naruto-kun."

The Fifth Hokage crouched down to the ninken's level and took the tiny note from him, and he waited as she unfolded it.

"_Akatsuki in Whirlpool."_ Tsunade's nose crinkled in annoyance. "Great." she muttered. Pakkun blinked.

"Anything for me to take back?"

"Just tell them to stay the hell out of trouble and come back alive, damnit! They can stop worrying about Sakura already, she's fine and sends the undeserving bastard husband of hers her love. Naruto too."

Pakkun blinked at her again, tilting his head minutely.

Tsunade stood, cracking her back and stretching her arms in the process. "I just received a letter from her."

Pakkun nodded and saluted the Hokage. "Ryoukai shimashta." Tsunade nodded absently and turned away from him as he poofed back to his realm.

* * *

><p>Pakkun felt Kakashi out and after determining that no one was in any danger, poofed to his side. The boys stopped immediately, Naruto nervously awaiting Tsunade's response and Sasuke indifferently staring at the summon.<p>

Pakkun coughed. "She says come back alive. She says to stop worrying about Floral Green, she just got a letter from the pup. She says that Floral Green sends her love to you all, even you, you undeserving bastard." He looked at Sasuke apathetically. Sasuke's eyes smoldered but he said nothing. Naruto's mouth flopped open and closed, and he didn't know how to contain the immense joy he felt at knowing Sakura-chan was ok, and nowhere near Akatsuki nor Itachi. Kakashi remained indifferent, grateful for the information but ever focused on the mission at hand.

"Thanks, Pakkun." He crouched and patted the little dog's head and fed him a treat from his shuriken pouch, and the pooched poofed away, satisfied. Kakashi stood and stared at the boys for a short while, hands in his pockets.

"Well, there you have it." he said cryptically. Kakashi shrugged and turned, looking over his shoulder at his teammates.

"Let's roll."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 18 : Justification_

Sakura was extremely happy with Itachi's progress. Since he had started taking the tetracycline, his infection was steadily disappearing, and since she was able to coax the stubborn Uchiha into taking the cough suppressant, she was also able to heal more and more of the damage that was tearing apart his lungs. However, his pneumonia was not clearing up as well as she would have liked it to. Normally, the high dosage of tetracycline she had prescribed Itachi should have taken care of it, but it honestly wasn't affecting him any more positively than the yarrow or basil in her teas had. It was merely keeping it at bay. She really did need to do a biopsy.

Sakura watched Itachi as he sipped his tea, nothing medicinal, just mint. She smiled weakly at him as he met her eyes.

"Feeling better?"

Itachi nodded. "Much. Thank you." he finished off his warm drink and handed the cup to Sakura who took it but didn't rise from her seat. She fidgeted with the handle and stared at his hand, eyeing the red and silver circlet there. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura looked back up to his face. "Well.. yes. Itachi-san, we have a problem." Itachi fought the urge to sigh and just looked at her, waiting for her to continue. Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm going to need to draw some blood as well as take a biopsy of some of your lung tissue." Itachi gripped the coverlet tightly in his hand and the corners of his mouth turned down in a slight frown. Sakura leaned forward a bit. "I need you to trust me. If you expect to survive this than you can't continue being stubborn. Sometimes when you get really sick, you have to follow the doctor's orders. In this case, if you don't you _will_ die and there's nothing I will be able to do. I don't know what's causing your pneumonia and the medication you're taking now isn't fixing the problem." Sakura defined the issue at hand clearly for him. "I want to help you, and believe me this isn't easy for me either!" she stood. "I'm helping you, Kami knows why, and I still know in the end that you're going to die no matter what! Damned Uchihas with your hatred and your revenge and your noble airs!" Sakura sat on the bed next to Itachi and sighed. "I want to help you, I want to help Sasuke, I've always been useless to everyone." She turned to look at him and Itachi reflexively placed a hand on her shoulder, his stoic look replaced by one of vague understanding. She flinched, then tilted her head apologetically. "Maybe I can at least help you two resolve this. I know..." she fought the emotion welling within her chest, "I know this is your shared destiny." she whispered.

Itachi nodded. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I'll try to be more... receptive." He let his hand fall back to the bed, fingers trailing down her arm as he lowered it. "I didn't mean to upset you." He looked at her lips instead of her eyes. They were drawn together, tilted in a lopsided frown.

Sakura nodded. "I know." She leaned back to rest on his pillow with him and absently took his hand into hers, tracing circles on the back of it with her thumb. Itachi relaxed somewhat at her contact. Somehow the kunoichi had a calming aura about her, she put him at ease, despite the danger her presence put him in. Maybe it was the emotional weakness he was feeling since he contracted the pneumonia, but he was glad to talk to her, about almost anything. Itachi leaned his head back deeper into the pillow. _"Almost." _He closed his eyes. He still hadn't opened up to her about the massacre. After the way she had talked about the incident it seemed pointless for him to withhold the information from her, but at the same time the truth of the matter was so intensely _personal_ that it was no surprise that Itachi hadn't told her anything about it.

Sakura interrupted his thoughts quietly. "The sooner I get started on this, the better. Then I can get you the right treatment and we can get moved up to Lightning." She turned to face him, seeking his agreement.

Itachi opened his eyes and turned his face slightly to look at her. In the evening light her face was covered by a deep shadow, but the sunset's fading light which poured in through the small kitchen window illuminated her from behind, setting her skin aglow. Her tense, hopeful smile and large eyes greeted his own dark ones and Itachi's mouth opened slightly, but no response came out. She was so close to him... He fought the urge to run his hand along her face and maybe even touch her lips.

No. This was his brother's wife.

Sakura suddenly felt uncomfortable at their proximity and turned away from Itachi, rising quickly from the bed and hiding her blush. _"I'm tempting the poor man."_

Itachi cursed inwardly. _"I'm a fool."_ he screwed his eyes shut tightly and fell back against the bedding. After a moment he regained his composure and sent his answer at Sakura's back.

"You can do the biopsy and draw the blood in the morning."

Sakura fiddled with her hair and looked out the window in the kitchen for a moment longer, then turned to Itachi as though nothing at all had happened.

"Okay." She smiled.

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, Sakura arose and fixed breakfast for herself and Itachi, but set it aside for later. She sat Itachi up and prepared Itachi for the procedure she was about to conduct.<p>

"Please take your shirt off." her request was clipped, she was putting on her gloves and checking her apron to make sure all of her equipment was ready.

Itachi obliged her, and Sakura's eyes raked across his thin figure. It appeared he was putting on some weight, but his ribs were still showing. Maybe they always had. Either way, she gently grasped his upper arm, extending it towards her. Sakura quickly tied the latex tourniquet about his arm tightly, while Itachi looked on with mild interest. Sakura's fingers lingered on the soft skin on the underside of his wrist for an instant before she rolled his hand into a fist and squeezed it wordlessly, signaling for him to hold it like that.

Itachi obeyed. But his heart was beating faster. He felt like the spot she had stroked on his wrist was hot, as though her warm fingertips still lingered there. He bit the inside of his lower lip in response. The movement did not go unnoticed by Sakura, but she interpreted a different meaning. Her eyes darted to his, then back to his forearm.

"I've done this before." she stated simply, trying to reassure him.

Itachi didn't doubt her ability in the least, but there was no way for him to communicate that to her. Rather, he was having more difficulty with the contact she maintained with his arm. After what had happened the evening prior...

Itachi had gone to sleep soon after their short exchange of words, but the pink-haired kunoichi had lingered in his thoughts. 'Persistent' was how Itachi might describe her, in every way she encompassed the semantic of the word. He didn't even notice as Sakura located a good vein in the crook of his elbow and inserted the needle, rapidly attaching a small vial to the plastic protrusion. His thoughts were elsewhere again.

He had dreamed of a clear night in Konoha, on the lake near his family's home. Stars shone brightly in the deep beryl sky and the landscape appeared ethereal to him, brightened eerily by the light of the full moon. Then again, it _was_ a dream after all. But it had been so vivid. It had felt like a warm night, and he had been sitting on the dock, bare toes not quite reaching the water. Then a figure had slowly manifested itself from within the depths of the still lake, becoming more and more pronounced as it neared the surface, and then Sakura, in all of her sparkling, wet, naked glory had come out of the water, grabbing his outstretched hands and pulling him in with a subdued giggle. He had joined her in the warm water, she had held his hands and the way her hair had fanned out about her face had been unreal, simply... beautiful. He had caressed her face and she had smiled, blushing, unsure but accepting with those bright verdigris eyes of hers. The different hues of her skin and hair were muted under the water and in the moonlight, making her seem all that more unreachable. Sinking slowly, nearing each other there in the lake, she had slunk a hand around his waist and pulled him in close to her soft curves...

With a _snap_ Itachi was jerked back to reality as Sakura undid his tourniquet. Absently, she strapped a piece of tape over the gauze pad that protected the needle puncture form the open air and she stood. Itachi's eyes lingered on her lips and then her chest for a fraction of a second, then he forced himself to look at his blanket. He slowly uncurled his tight fist and watched as his fingers and palm turned pink, then changed back into their normal tone.

"_Damn..."_ he stole another look at her now that he was more calm, but she was bending over now, rifling through her medical bag for something. He looked back to the bed rapidly. _"There's something wrong with me..."_ he scolded himself for his off-color thoughts.

"Here it is!" Sakura called and returned to his bedside with a bound, and enormous needle in her hand. Itachi couldn't hide the shock on his face as she pulled on a new pair of gloves. His mouth dropped open.

"What are you going to do with that?" he asked stupidly. His stomach flip-flopped.

"It's a biopsy needle." Sakura pursed her lips in annoyance. 'Settle down', her expression seemed to say.

Itachi sucked his teeth. "Oh."

Sakura placed a hand on his bare shoulder, encouraging him to scoot down. Since he really had no other choice, he meekly obeyed her again, and she pulled the pillow out from behind him.

"You've done this before?"

Sakura nodded. "Several times."

"Are you going to put me under?" Understandably, Itachi was on edge.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "For a biopsy? No. And I'll heal you right up afterward. Now, cross your arms behind your head."

Itachi took a calming breath and again, did as he was told. Sakura pulled the blanket down to his hips and tore open an alcohol swab, wiping the area around his lower right ribcage clean. Finally she tore the plastic and paper cover off of the large syringe, popping the cap off.

"Do you want me to numb the area?"

Itachi met her eyes with a look of irritation. Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes at her moody patient.

"Fine then." she muttered, holding her gloved hand just above the area she had prepped. Her sea- green chakra penetrated his body, and the area felt uncomfortably cold to him, then numb. It felt wrong. Itachi frowned.

"Here goes." Sakura set a firm hand on the area, holding him in place, and plunged the long, sharp needle in to the hilt. Itachi's face twitched in discomfort at the unfamiliar sensation. He could hear and see what was happening to his body, yet he felt nothing at the site of the procedure. Sakura was utterly focused on her task, monitoring the site of the biopsy carefully with chakra. She slowly began to pull the plunger on the syringe back and Itachi started to feel very uncomfortable and short of breath.

"_She's killing me."_ his eyes widened and he gasped.

"Shh... just a little more..."

"Stop it." he choked out, trying to lift his head. He wanted to throw her across the room, but he couldn't move for fear of damaging himself more that the needle already was.

"We're done." Sakura disconnected the tissue inside him from the end of the needle carefully, then pulled it out and set it aside on a small plastic tray, keeping one glowing hand on the area of the puncture. Quickly, she turned her full attention to his fresh wound and pumped him full of warm, healing chakra, winding his injured tissues back together. As his ease of breath returned to him, Itachi started to calm down. Sakura finished healing him.

"See? All done." Sakura smiled sadly at him. She picked up the tray and made her way to the fridge. "I'm sorry." She didn't look at him when she said it.

Slowly, Itachi sat up and brought his arms down, then he swung his legs out of the bed and stood slowly, shakily.

"Itachi-san!" Sakura neared him.

"I'm fine." he assured her bitterly, waving her away. "I'm eating at the table for once."

Sakura watched him make his way to the small table in the nook and sit down heavily, waiting for his breakfast. His mood had deteriorated considerably from when he had first woken up. He seemed almost serene then. Now he was looking dark and withdrawn again.

"_Well, at least the hardest part is over, medically anyway. Once we get this figured out he's going to feel loads better."_

Sakura grabbed their pancakes out of the oven and brought them over to the table. She sat next to Itachi at the round table. He heaped his plate angrily with pancakes and slathered them with butter and syrup. Itachi shoved a large forkful into his mouth and munched the sweet bread hungrily. Suddenly his expression softened and he looked at Sakura, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. He chewed slowly, then swallowed.

"Sakura?" he ventured.

"Yes?" Sakura swallowed her mouthful of pancake hastily.

"Where did you learn to make pancakes?"

Sakura shrugged and pursed her lips in embarrassment. "From a cookbook."

Itachi nodded. "The one at the house?"

Sakura stiffened. She stared at Itachi blankly.

Itachi looked at his pancakes again, except somehow they didn't look the same as they had before. They were blurry and he couldn't make out individual pancakes anymore. Sakura got up and leaned over the seemingly paralyzed man, setting a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her but all he saw was a blur of pink.

"Are you alright?"

"_My mom used to make these..."_ Itachi reached up to Sakura's other shoulder and silently pulled her down into a hug, burying his face into her shoulder, smelling her sweet, flowery shampoo there.

"_Damn my weak heart. Damn these emotions."_

"Mom." he whispered, and the tears flowed.

Sakura was surprised, but she reciprocated his embrace, giving him a safe place to vent. Her hand went to his head and she stroked his soft hair.

"It'll be okay. I'm sorry, I didn't know..." she trailed. "I won't do it again."

Itachi half-laughed into her shoulder. _"This woman..."_

"Not your fault." He waited until he was sure the tears were over and pulled away as Sakura straightened. "I love pancakes."

Sakura nodded warily. Itachi cut a small triangle out of his pancake stack and chewed thoughtfully as Sakura sat back down.

"_It's about time I held up my end of the bargain. Sakura has earned it."_

"I didn't want to kill her." Itachi began.

Sakura felt as though her food had turned into wet paper in her mouth. She forced herself to swallow as she was confronted with the mental image of a thirteen year-old Itachi in her bedroom, slicing into his parents, their blood spattering across the floor. She heard the dull thuds of their bodies hitting the wood in her memory. Her hands fisted into her skirt and her eyes were wide as she stared, unseeing at her breakfast.

Itachi had seen the same look on Sasuke's face more than once before, whenever he was remembering the night his big brother left Konoha. The question came to Itachi's mind, and after a second of deliberation, he asked it.

"Why do you react like this when... that night is mentioned?" He was puzzled by her intense response to the reminder of that night. It was as though she had been there, as though it had happened to her, yet she had been nowhere near the Uchiha compound that night. _"Why..."_

Sakura couldn't answer. She was frozen. Itachi reached out to touch her shoulder and just as his fingertips neared her she jerked out of her chair and backed away a few feet, breathing deeply.

"It's complicated." she whispered eventually, visibly trying to relax but failing miserably. She looked at Itachi apologetically. "Forgive my reaction. I'm still trying to deal with it."

"_With what?"_ the question plagued Itachi's mind. He felt he would be able to explain better once he understood what she was talking about. She had once mentioned seeing the massacre... But the memory was a blur to him, he had passed out soon afterward, he felt that his recollection of the events of that day was flawed.

Slowly she walked back to her chair and sat back down, poking her cold breakfast with her fork. "I was cleaning the house a few days after... umm..." She bit her lip. Itachi waited patiently. If anything, he was patient after years of waiting for his brother to exact his revenge. "Well, I'll try to keep it short. One night after Sasuke and I had a fight, I woke up and Sasuke was yelling in our bedroom and looking at the bath. When I went in, there was blood everywhere. Our stuff was everywhere. So we grabbed what we could carry and ran to your parents' room, it's now our room." Sakura sighed and slouched into the chair. "Sasuke left for the week and I took advantage of the opportunity to try and clean up _that_ room. When I went in everything had been picked up and organized. Freaky." Sakura brushed her hair out of her face and Itachi continued to listen attentively. "I went to clean your room after calming down... I was just in a cleaning mode, I don't know why. I tried to open your door and that's when I was attacked." She looked at Itachi, still slightly perturbed at being attacked by someone who was hundreds of miles away. "I got hit in the leg by a senbon-" "Sorry." Itachi muttered, and Sakura nodded, "and then your mom appeared out of nowhere." Itachi's eyebrows drew together on his forehead in response. "I know, it was weird." Sakura rolled her eyes. "She basically just wanted to talk. Something about how..." She paused here, then barreled on ahead. "I'm the hope of the clan. And then I confronted her about Sasuke, I told her that I needed to know what happened to him so that I could understand him. Remember," she reminded Itachi sadly, "I've spent my whole career as a shinobi trying to help him."

"I see..." Itachi murmured. He was surprised to hear the bitterness in her tone. _"I'll get back to that..."_

"Well, I kept bugging her even though she didn't want me to know but finally she agreed to show me, and that's when I met Shisui and your father." Sakura crossed her arms and looked Itachi full in the face. "I won't blame you if you don't believe me from here on out. But I basically had an out-of body experience, and Shisui- yes ghosts have chakra- used mangekyou sharingan on me and I lived out the experience of the massacre through Sasuke's eyes, feeling his feelings and hearing his thoughts on top of my own." She rushed through the last part of the story, then stood up, gathering their plates and walking into the kitchen. "I was terrified! I was depressed! I was traumatized!" she exclaimed as she threw away their cold, uneaten pancakes. Itachi turned to sit sideways on the chair and rested his arm and face on the back of the chair, watching the kunoichi. She dumped the dishes into the sink and turned on the tap.

"I had nightmares for a couple of weeks after that." Sakura added as she started to scrub the plates. "But I knew, I just knew, there was no way that you meant what you said. There is just no way that you killed _everyone_ just to test yourself. It's idiotic!" She threw the sponge into the sink and twisted the tap shut. Itachi's expression remained neutral at her accusations.

"So now it's your turn!" She put her hands on her hips. "Enough about me, _why did you do it?_" Sakura waited for his answer.

"Well my story is quite simple actually. But before I tell you I have one more request." Itachi looked at her seriously. "If I tell you, which I will, then I will be leaving my legacy with you. There is only one other person still alive who knows most of the details. It is of the utmost importance that you keep this a secret." Itachi looked at her sternly as he rose out of his chair slowly. Sakura's hands were balled tightly into fists at her sides.

"I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"Not even Sasuke." Itachi's piercing gaze unnerved her.

But she stood firm. "I swear to you that I will never tell Sasuke what you are about to tell me."

Itachi spoke slowly. "You make that promise so quickly, so lightly. But this is a difficult burden to bear." Itachi gripped the counter as he walked over to her, taking his time. "One I have carried now for twelve years. Look at me." Sakura could hear the disgust he felt in his voice. "Look what it's done to me." his voice was low as he reached for her upper arms with both hands, grasping them, pulling her toward him weakly and looking down into her upturned face, beseeching. "Are you sure you want this?" his pain flashed across his eyes and the lines in his face seemed to deepen.

Sakura felt insecure again, but she nodded, never turning away from him.

"Yes."

Itachi searched her face for a moment before hanging his head and letting her arms go, but a second later he grabbed her shoulder, and instinctively she knew he wanted to go back to bed. After such a taxing morning and small breakfast she wasn't surprised. They made their way across the room together, and Sakura took her usual seat as Itachi reclined on his pillow, sighing. Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"My father always pushed me to be a superior shinobi. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I never had the childhood that most shinobi children have. At a young age I had already graduated from the academy and fought in the second great war. I dirtied my hands with the blood of my enemies long before I reached the age you were when you graduated the academy. By the time I was thirteen, I had made ANBU and been promoted to captain. My ANBU promotion was the turning point in my life." Itachi opened his eyes and stared at a spot on the ceiling. "At this point I was assigned a mission by the Uchiha clansmen, my father among them, to gather information for the Uchiha to use against Konoha." Sakura inhaled sharply and Itachi turned his head to look at her. "That's right. They were planning a coup, an uprising against the Hokage and the council. They felt oppressed, and to some extent, they were." Sakura hung her head and looked at the ground seriously as she processed the new information.

"Because of everything I had seen and done in my life, I was somewhat of a pacifist. I still am, as a matter of fact." Itachi admitted mirthlessly. "I went straight to the Hokage at my earliest opportunity and told him about the Uchihas' plans. In return, I was ordered to spy on my clan for the sake of Konoha."

Sakura looked at Itachi's face again questioningly. "They asked you to be a double agent? At that age? That was a very dangerous thing for you to do." Sakura whispered. She clasped her hands in between her knees. "That was very brave of you."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "It wasn't brave. It was done out of necessity." Sakura was surprised, and decided to hold her tongue until he finished his story. Itachi sighed at the hurt in her eyes. _"Such a strange kunoichi. Strong one moment, walking on eggshells the next. She's very considerate of others' feelings..."_ Itachi realized. "I apologize. I didn't mean to be short with you. It is a delicate topic for me." Sakura nodded mutely, accepting.

Itachi continued. "It came to a point where I would either side with my family or with Konoha. The clan had their reservations about me and assigned Shisui to watch me. Luckily Shisui was on my side as well, he wanted to protect Konoha. We made a pact and I killed him, gaining the mangekyou sharingan, among other things." Itachi's gaze shifted to Sakura's face, his face clearly displaying the pain he felt. "Within the week I was ordered to kill the entire clan, leave the village and become a missing-nin, or someone else would be assigned the task. In order to maintain the honor of my clan, I took it on myself to extinguish the threat to our village and leave my home behind." Itachi gripped the covers much as he had that morning, and he now stared at the ridges of fabric that formed in between his fists. "Sasuke..." he faltered. "Sasuke was supposed to be home much earlier. I'm glad he wasn't. I..." Itachi would not cry again, he was not even close to it. But he did feel a dull, familiar pain sitting heavy in his chest, very near to something like remorse. _"But a few died to save many..."_ "I just couldn't kill him. And he was too young to understand. Considering that I was just a kid myself, barely even thirteen years old, what would I do with my eight year old brother? Drag him with me into the badlands? No, he was innocent. Better to leave him behind with a reason to go on living, a reason to get over the tragedy he had witnessed than to condemn him to the life of a criminal." Itachi shook his head and clenched his jaw. "But he has disappointed me, over and over. I know it's my fault. But it is too late now to rectify the mistakes I made with Sasuke. My only hope is that once he achieves his goal and sates his desire for revenge, he can go on to live a normal life." Itachi's speech ended suddenly, and Sakura was dumbfounded. _"Could it be true? Would the Third really have assigned him such a mission? Would the council...?"_ Sakura's eyes widened in realization. The council. Of course they would. How many times had they, influenced as heavily as they were by Danzou, tried to convince and corner Tsunade-sama into acting in a corrupt manner? More than she could count. She had a hard time swallowing what Itachi was telling her, but he hadn't lied to her yet. Moreover, he had been more civil with her than the one who was supposed to be her closest friend and number one supporter had ever been. _"If only Sasuke knew."_ But she hung her head now, truly saddened, and bit her lip. The one person she had sworn not to tell... And Sakura would never break this promise. Never.

She met Itachi's eyes once more and the memory of what she had seen the night she met Shisui flashed through her head once more. He had challenged Sasuke to gain power, insane power. But the true intention behind his challenge was for Sasuke to seek power in order to protect himself from the council, maybe even from people like Sai, from Root. And it was also true, now that she thought on it; Itachi had never succeeded in taking Naruto from the village, and he had not killed any leaf ninja as far as she knew. She blinked at Itachi. Jiraya's secret informant within Akatsuki. Of course. _"He's been trying to protect the village all along..."_ Sakura let out a small laugh and grabbed his hand again. Itachi's eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock at her sudden movement, and her sudden change in demeanor.

"You really _are_ a good person!" She exclaimed, relieved.

"Keep it down, I have a reputation to maintain..." Itachi frowned.

"I'm so glad I met you. You saved the village from civil war, you've protected Naruto from Akatsuki and you've only done your best to try to help your brother become a strong man and make a new name for the clan. You'd give your life in a moment for your village, wouldn't you? Just like I would." Sakura smiled softly. "You are giving your life for your village." Itachi looked away from her, embarrassed. "It's my duty, just as it is yours. Don't glorify it. Everyone sacrifices something for Konoha at some point or another."

"But you'll never be known for it..." Sakura let his hand go and her smile faded. "No one will know the truth."

Itachi laughed and Sakura was surprised at the gentle, deep sound. "I don't care about that. I just want my clan's name never to be tarnished, and I want my village to prosper in peace." His lips turned up at the corners, but his eyes shone with true happiness. "Maybe you can tell your grandchildren. I promise I won't get mad." Sakura laughed with him this time. "It'll be a legend... I'll be legendary..." Sakura grinned at him as he tried to keep a solemn face, but he failed and laughed softly along with her.

Sakura never wanted it to end.

* * *

><p>As the day wore on into evening, the constant, cold rain began to freeze and finally a heavy sleet precipitated onto the team seven boys. They had been walking all day, following Sasuke. However, the group was no closer to their goal then they had been a week ago. Today they had found an old hideout of Orochimaru's, but it had been wiped clean and anything that wasn't made of stone had been doused with kerosene and burned to ash. There were no clues to be had.<p>

Sasuke stopped near some large boulders and dropped his pack to the ground. Naruto and Kakashi stretched a tarpaulin in between the rocks and covered it with brush, and the trio settled themselves under it for the night, practically sleeping on top of each other due to the cold. Sasuke took the first watch and frowned in disgust at the way Naruto threatened to drool near Kakashi. It was dark and cold and a little windy, and the small fire really wasn't doing much for anyone. Sasuke was thankful that he had finally been trusted with watch duty. Kakashi and Naruto had determined after a week of good behavior on Sasuke's part and a week of sleep exhaustion on their part that it would be fine (and fair) for the Uchiha to resume his previous duty.

Sasuke tried to think of the best way to find Orochimaru's lair. He was getting tired of searching for the snake in the cold weather, and he wanted to get back to Konoha as soon as possible to check on Sakura. He wondered vaguely if she had her summoning scroll with her, the one that summoned Kakashi, and an idea occurred to him. It was a long shot, but it just might work. Sasuke was tempted to wake up his mission partners and tell them of his genius plan but he was sure they wouldn't appreciate it, so he settled for poking the fire gloomily.

He thought some more about Sakura, wondering where she was in Whirlpool. He imagined her on the beach somewhere, gathering seashells, smiling and happy, dusting sand off of her body, splashing in the low tide. He imagined her healing rambunctious boys' broken bones and helping young mothers birth their children at the clinic. She was such a caring soul. He had treated her horribly. Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and looked about the campsite, checking the perimeter. Nothing, as usual.

Sasuke thought about what he had done for a moment, but fought the urge to mope. Instead he tried to look at it from a different angle, if Sakura _did_ end up getting captured, could he still tilt the scales to his advantage? He sighed, inhaling the aroma of the dying embers of the fire. There was one hope. _"Naruto."_ If he could convince his friend that he had changed, that he had seen the error of his ways and was only interested in making Sakura happy forever and ever, no matter what it cost him, the possibility existed that he could avoid being snitched on when they all got back to Konoha. The only thing standing in the way of his plan was Kakashi.

Kakashi was not a lenient man. Yes, he had given Sasuke a chance to integrate with team seven again when he got out of prison, but by the same token, Sasuke had really _tried_ to fit in and make it work. He had even gone so far as to make friends with Sakura, who had hated him at the time. The only possible way that he could get Kakashi out of the picture would be by him either getting sent on a mission immediately upon their return to Konoha (which was highly unlikely), or dying on this mission. There would be no convincing Kakashi, and Sasuke could throw killing Kakashi right out the window. The only other thing that could possibly work would be blackmail. Sasuke wasn't sure what he could use as blackmail, but there had to be something.

Sasuke had dug himself into quite a hole. He shook his head miserably as he wracked his brain for options. It really seemed that there was no way out of this one. His only hope was for Naruto to work his magic. There wasn't one person alive who hadn't fallen prey to the fox demon container's unique motivational powers of friendship. Sasuke covered his face with his palm in quasi-embarrassment. Somehow his corny friend always seemed to be able to convince people to follow his lead. It actually wasn't a bad bet. All he had to do was convince Naruto that he was being 'sincere'.

Sasuke smirked half-heartedly into the darkness. It would take time, and hard work to prove himself to Naruto but if that's what he had to do for his revenge then he would stop at nothing. The way this mission was going, it looked like they had nothing but time on their hands anyway. He tried, successfully, to push images of a hurting Sakura from his mind as he renewed his focus on his ultimate goal. Yes, he had experienced a lapse in determination, a moment of weakness per se, but it was over and in the end, it would work to his advantage.

"_Itachi must die..."_ was the last coherent thought that ran through his head before he sleepily stood and bent to shake Naruto awake for the second watch.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 19 : Fomentare_

Sasuke looked from Kakashi to Naruto, his staid countenance defending the unease he felt. His plan was far from flawless, and relied heavily on the team's general _gut feeling_. At worst it would immerse the whole team in serious danger. At best Sasuke's life would be under the greatest threat. It had been so from the start, but Sasuke's risky proposal brought a troubled hush over the shinobi. Kakashi eyed the young man suspiciously. Sasuke felt his question and answered accordingly.

"I'm not _trying_ to get myself killed." the words came out bitterly. Kakashi responded with a slight tilt of his head. Naruto looked at the Uchiha with a mix of confusion and sobriety.

"Teme, are you sure about this?"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked darkly. "We've been looking for more than two weeks. Do we have another option?" He paused. "Kakashi?'

The jounin shook his head, he had no better solution to offer.

"_Then it's settled."_ Sasuke hiked his pack up on his shoulder. "Kakashi? You're the scroll-making genius behind this operation." He threw the older ANBU a mild, expectant look. With a tired sigh, Kakashi resigned himself to the task at hand. However dangerous and unstable the plan seemed, it held water. Sasuke was the only person who could get it off the ground, and in hindsight, it was surprising that Tsunade hadn't detailed anything like it in the assignment scroll. She had probably hoped they wouldn't resort to desperate measures. But now that Naruto had been assimilated into their little group, the plan stood on its own and Sasuke had the backup he needed. Kakashi carefully brushed the complex kanji onto the summoning scroll he was fabricating for himself. If they all died, he wouldn't be surprised. If they pulled it off their mission would become legend among Konoha's shinobi. Kakashi half-smiled under his mask, still not completely satisfied with Sasuke's strategy, but slowly warming to it.

"_This is so... team seven."_

While Kakashi busied himself composing the summoning scrolls, Sasuke dug into his pack for a different kind of scroll. Once he laid hands on it, he gripped it tightly. With a terse, "Be right back." Sasuke walked a bit away from the camp, stripping behind a large boulder. Quickly, he pulled on the dark, warm pants and light shirt he had become accustomed to wearing during the years after his defection from Konoha. He tugged on his shoes and arm guards, fastening the strap across his palm with a practiced hand. Finally he tied the sash and rope that held his legendary sword about his waist. He sealed all of his old clothes back in the scroll and then untied his hitae-ate, rubbing the metal plate with his thumb pensively. He smirked again. _"This had better work."_ He emerged from behind the rocks and returned to the team's camp. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sight of the Uchiha but said nothing, and Kakashi ignored Sasuke completely. Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes, instead he settled with handing his hitae-ate to his childhood friend. Naruto accepted the band.

"Keep it safe for me. And if I don't come back from this, tell Sakura I'm sorry, and take care of her."

Naruto's mouth hardened into a firm line, he was resolute in his promise.

"I will. But you'd better come out alive, Teme."

"Hn."

Sasuke felt as though the mission was finally starting, and there would certainly be an adventure ahead of him. Kakashi arose after finishing his and Naruto's summoning scrolls, and handed them to Sasuke.

"I'll need your insurance." Kakashi flipped a kunai out of his pouch and handed it to Sasuke, while holding a small plastic container in his other hand expectantly. Without a word, Sasuke rolled up his sleeve and put a nick in the crook of his elbow, allowing a fair amount of blood to drip into the cup. As he wrapped a strip of gauze tightly around the wound, Kakashi mixed an equal amount of ink in with the blood and screwed the lid on tightly. It was time for Sasuke to take his leave.

"Remember, I don't know how long this will take. I'll either send a signal through reverse summoning and wait for you to bring me to you, or I'll summon you for backup."

Naruto nodded grimly and Kakashi just slouched.

Content with their response, Sasuke turned away from the pair and headed into the wilds, unmasking his chakra.

* * *

><p>A few days later, hundreds of miles away in Whirlpool, dawn was breaking through the green canopy of the rainforest. Sakura smiled as she looked around the house, all of her and Itachi's belongings were packed and ready to go. Itachi sat on the counter, munching away at an apple. He'd gotten much better since she'd changed his medication, and now that he was able to breathe freely and the coughing fits had stopped, there was nothing keeping them from relocating up into the mountains of Lightning. Itachi hopped down from the ledge, feeling slightly at a loss due to his lack of cargo, but Sakura had assured him that his assistance would not be required.<p>

"_You'll only wear yourself out sooner, making the rest of the trip harder on us both." _she had cautioned.

Itachi also felt somewhat guilty at the situation. Sakura would be officially missing within the next three weeks. They agreed that Itachi would carry the blame for that but he couldn't help feel that she should return to her village. At the same time he couldn't allow her to go back no matter how earnestly she swore herself to secrecy, not that she'd indicated a desire to leave his side. According to her prognosis, he wouldn't live to see Sasuke again without her consistent medical care. She _wanted_ to stay with him, to help both him and Sasuke complete their goals. Even if he wanted to, Itachi knew he would not be able to dissuade the kunoichi.

"Let's go!" Sakura smiled brightly at him. _"Things are going to get better from here on out."_ Sakura clinched the shoulder straps on her bag tighter. Itachi closed the door and locked it. He was frowning deeply as he turned to her, but there was no helping it. What was necessary had to be done, and Sakura couldn't risk being seen in public with Uchiha Itachi, not this early on in the game. The elder Uchiha pressed his hands together in the simple seal he'd formed countless times, and with a muted "Henge!" he transformed. The smoke came and went and in his place stood a petite kunoichi with plain, modest attire and a Konoha hitae-ate on her arm. She stood a little shorter than Sakura. Her look of displeasure could not be matched, so thorough was Itachi's disgust.

Sakura frowned as well. "Come on now, it's not that bad, and this way we won't be found out." Sakura smiled vaguely, weighted by her trepidation. With a "Hn." Itachi's effeminate features smoothed into an emotionless mask and he turned away from her. Within twenty minutes the duo had reached the aviary.

"One more letter..." Sakura muttered. Itachi closed her eyes and leaned nonchalantly against the wall, indifferent to Sakura's activities. Sakura penned her letter with care, not wanting to send any foreboding vibes through her message but at the same time... Sakura's heart went out to the Hokage. Tsunade saw her somewhat as family, and she would be devastated once she realized what had supposedly transpired.

"_Tsunade-sama,"_

"_Everything is going well here. The weather is the same; beautiful, sunny and warm. The beach is great, although I prefer the natural, rocky shores to the smooth man-made ones intended for tourists. The tomboy in me loves raw nature."_

"_My patient is doing much better. I'm thinking I'll be able to leave here in two weeks. Do you want anything in particular?"_

"_Thanks for the microscope. I'm sending back your equipment via packing scroll. It definitely came in handy. I can't believe you diagnosed his low white blood cell count without meeting him, it wouldn't have occurred to me so quickly."_

"_I don't really have any news so please send Team Seven my love next time you see them. I hope they are safe and happy."_

"_Much love to yourself and Shizune as well, I miss you two."_

"_Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."_

The last line of her letter sounded disjointed from the rest of her message but she just shrugged and signed her name carefully at the foot of the letter. Again, she charged the big red-tailed hawk with the safe delivery of her letter to Konoha. She and Itachi left the aviary and headed to the market together to stock up on non-perishables for their journey. She had hoped the outing would be fun, instead the Uchiha's brooding manner caused the villagers to shy away form the girls. Finally they left the market and made their way back out toward the beach. Itachi had helped with the planning of their trip, the easiest way to get to Lightning would be by teleporting to an Akatsuki way station, then traveling from there. Sakura was less than fond of the idea, supposing she should be seen by another Akatsuki member, but it seemed like the best and fastest option, and the least stressful for Itachi. The pair hiked around the island for about an hour and a half, Itachi having dropped his henge as soon as they left civilization behind. Soon enough, they reached the way point, a small natural ravine, and Sakura looked questioningly at her fellow leaf-nin.

"Leylines." he muttered.

Sakura's brow twitched with her lack of understanding, but she stored the information away like a good kunoichi. Someone else could probably interpret it. Itachi motioned for his medic to follow him into the small fault. Sakura bravely skidded down the sharp incline of the wall, avoiding the rocks that protruded there. Itachi grasped her hand firmly once she reached the bottom.

"One-handed seals?" he murmured. She shook her head abashedly in response. Itachi stifled a sigh. "Okay." He gripped her shoulders and placed her in front of him, her back to his front. He was definitely teaching her one-handed seals at the earliest opportunity. He wound his arms around her waist, bringing his hands together under her bound bosom. He tried to focus on the task at hand, but for someone as talented in the ways of ninjutsu as himself he found it easier to concentrate on the warm body in his arms. He rested his head on her shoulder and spoke his instructions softly into her ear.

"Hold onto my forearms."

She did as she was told and he felt out the energy of the leyline, matching his chakra flow to the natural power in the crevice and applying a decent amount of chakra to each seal as well. Ram. Hare. Ram. Dog. Dragon... With a final flare of chakra, the travelers vanished from the secluded spot. Sakura's breath was taken away as she found herself being pulled along an intense current of energy that flowed all around her. She felt disembodied, even more so than during her out-of-body experience, she couldn't tell if she had fingers or legs or a stomach anymore. An expanse of white enveloped her for minutes on end, yet she had the distinct feeling of traveling at a breakneck speed. Suddenly it all came to an abrupt end, she felt bruised all over. The feeling subsided into a pins and needles feeling and she became aware of steady hands holding her upright by her upper arms. As her senses adjusted to her surroundings she could make out that they were in a cave ridden with stalactites and stalagmites, among other colorful rock formations. Pools of steaming, glowing liquids littered the area. Sakura placed a hand on Itachi's, signaling that she could stand on her own. She walked to a clear space and set her pack down.

"Where are we again?" the words unintentionally came out as a cracked whisper.

"Tori." Itachi responded in that deep, quiet, self-assured voice of his.

Sakura nodded, pulling a handy scroll from the top of their shared pack. She hadn't brought much in the way of winter clothing, but there was some, and at least she had a cloak for herself as well as sweats and standard issue cargo pants. With her back turned to Itachi she stripped rapidly to her underwear, and just as quickly threw on the cold weather mission gear. _"Sucks that I don't have spares."_ She thought to herself, biting her tongue. It would have to do. Little did she know that Itachi was behind her, fighting to remain dignified, staring into a dark recess of the cave instead of ogling her pale back. He thrust his hands into his pockets in his angst. The unfairness of it all. She should have been his.

Itachi blinked. _"What?"_ He blinked again _"Nevermind. I was not just thinking that."_ He pushed the thought away with all of his will. How this woman caused him to suffer. He was brought back to reality soon enough, and he turned rapidly to catch the bundle of clothing that had been aimed at his head easily. He turned, stripping slowly, deliberately, then dressing again in layers, just as carefully. He felt her burning gaze on him the entire time, apparently she lacked the discretion and respect that he held for her.But somehow, he didn't mind. Just knowing that she was enjoying drinking in the sight of his body caused him to smirk slightly. It seemed she couldn't resist the opportunity when it presented itself.

"Like what you see?" he murmured softly, enticingly, and he cast a glance over his shoulder briefly, just long enough to see a deep blush tint her face before she spun her head from over her shoulder almost into her lap. _"At least she has the scruples to feel guilt."_ Itachi knew it was wicked but he felt the urge to laugh welling within him. It had been a long time since he had done anything even remotely 'fun' and he pondered briefly as to whether it would be worth it to torture the kunoichi some more. He smirked as, for the first time in over a month, he pulled his Akatsuki cloak about him. Maybe he would have some fun with her. And from the look on her face before her blush, he knew he certainly wouldn't be hurting her. Itachi turned back to the kunoichi and one look at her embarrassed face was enough to turn him from his cruel thoughts. After all she had done for him, he couldn't sully their relationship with petty games, however much fun they promised. She smiled at him warily and stood.

"Ready to go?" she asked. Itachi nodded. "Lead the way, Itachi-san."

He turned from her, leading the young woman out of the cave, but he was also hiding his displeasure at the impersonal honorific she constantly attached to his name. It was warranted, however; as the brother of her husband they did not share any sort of intimacy that would prompt her to call him otherwise. By the same token, one more than one occasion he had taken the liberty of addressing her by her given name. She hadn't complained or even seemed to notice. Strange. It bothered him.

The pair exited the cave, finding themselves in the hilly forest country of Tori. Sakura clenched her fists against the frosty breeze, the climate and altitude was so different compared to Whirlpool. She wondered briefly if it wouldn't be a bad idea to remain here, then dismissed the thought. They were much too close to Konoha for comfort. And so they began to walk in a westerly direction, heading for the world-renowned Mountains of Thunder. After nearly an hour of hiking in silence together, to Sakura's surprise Itachi initiated a conversation.

"What is Konoha like nowadays?"

He hadn't yet asked her anything about her village, or anything remotely personal at that, barring their conversation about the massacre. She thought about her answer for a few moments before beginning.

"Well, it's much the same as it was when I was a genin, really. The same shops, the same restaurants... I guess the biggest changes have taken place since Tsunade-sama became the Hokage. International relations have improved significantly. But you know how the village is. Plenty of civilian and shinobi children laughing and playing, the hospital is always busy, at night the place is quiet except for the bars. Oh yeah, and Kakashi's still a perv." She smirked bemusedly to herself at the last remark.

"You spend much time with him?"

"_Wow, Itachi is actually trying to have a conversation with me about something non-life-threatening."_

Sakura's smile dimmed. "Not since I became jounin myself. Really, we haven't spent time together since I became Tsunade-sama's apprentice."

"Hn." he answered simply.

"_Uchihas..."_ Sakura fully expected at least another hour of silence after his near-tacit response. But Itachi surprised her once again.

"Who _do_ you like to pass the time with?"

Sakura again took her time answering. Something told her that every word meant something to the missing-nin, that he was genuinely interested in her response and not merely making small talk to pass the time.

"Well, I used to hang out with my friend Ino but she and I don't really talk anymore. Before I got married, Sasuke and Naruto and I used to go out at least once or twice a month. But the boys got busy with missions... the three of us never really get together anymore." Sakura tried not to let the dark feelings she was having take over, but her face fell a little as they walked along. Her change in mood did not go unnoticed.

"What about just you and Sasuke?" Itachi asked innocently. Immediately Sakura tensed, just as she would have if faced with the real thing. Slowly, she shook it off but the damage was done. Itachi pressed her for an answer, despite her obvious discomfort. "You _are_ married. Not spending time with both of your old teammates I can understand. But your own husband?" Itachi's question hung heavily in the cold air. _"He obviously doesn't understand the situation!" _Inner Sakura railed. _"How can he?"_ Sakura yelled right back at her Inner. Sakura hadn't given him a single breadcrumb to follow regarding Sasuke. She sighed. Sakura had hoped she wouldn't have to explain her marital woes to the elder Uchiha. She had been trying to maintain a semblance of a professional doctor-patient relationship between them after all. _"That's right girl, you don't have to tell him a-ny-thing."_ Inner Sakura reminded her less than gently, and Sakura heartily agreed.

"Itachi-san, I'd rather leave my relationship with my husband between he and I. It's strictly our business, don't you think?" Sakura was sure, beyond a doubt, that her saccharine statement would nip his inquisitiveness in the bud. Instead, she succeeded in riling his interest further.

"Yes and no. It's my duty as Sasuke's older brother to make sure he's doing the right thing as the head of the clan. Frankly, you seem to be upset at the mere mention of his name. That indicates to me that you two aren't very... close." He settled on a good neutral word. Sakura frowned, determined lines appearing on her forehead.

"It's really none of your damned business in my opinion, Itachi-san." It was hard to keep her voice down when a certain Uchiha was very close to succeeding at pissing her off.

Itachi fought the urge to smirk, not wanting to provoke her anger, just wanting an answer to his inquiry. However indirectly, he was asking about Sasuke's behavior. He knew the sweet kunoichi wouldn't intentionally do anything to break down her relationship with Sasuke. Things must have been pleasant between the couple, or so Itachi thought, for them to make the decision to get married. _"Ah, but he was using her..."_ Itachi remained silent as they walked along through the forest. _"Sasuke had been planning on sending his wife after me for some time. But Sakura didn't figure out his plan until I spelled it out for her. Yet when I ask her how things were between the two before she came to Whirlpool, she reacts negatively."_ There was something more there, and Itachi was more than curious to know the truth behind Sakura and Sasuke's relationship. He was becoming protective of the woman who had saved his life. He wanted to know about it if something was genuinely bothering or hurting her, and he wanted to fix it. Itachi wasn't sure about what he could do for her and Sasuke, but he'd at least try to ease her pain while he could. It really was the least he could do for her. For now though, from the looks of things, she needed her space, and Itachi obliged her.

Meanwhile, Sakura plodded alongside Itachi, fuming to herself. _"What the hell does he know about marriage? What right does he have to delve into our private matters, to try to pick my brain for the juicy details of our relationship?"_ Sakura felt her heart sink, felt the hopelessness that struck her whenever Sasuke ignored her or disrespected her envelop her. Inner Sakura retorted,_ "Juicy details? Who are you kidding? You and Sasuke haven't talked in ages, all he does is put you down when he sees you, and take off on as many missions with Naruto as he can. It's like he doesn't even love you, when was the last time you two kissed?"_ Sakura pushed down the tightness in her throat with no small difficulty, sure the couple had copulated many times since their marriage but after the first few times it was just that - screwing. Sasuke screwed her while she waited for him to finish up, he never took the time to make her feel good as he had those first few times, foreplay was virtually non-existent. She sighed at the memory of her lying under him as he pounded away at her frustratedly, her arms resting loosely about his neck, their eyes never meeting. He never kissed her during their sporadic sessions of... fucking. Sakura brushed her hair out of her face and turned away from Itachi, she knew her exasperation at Sasuke was written all over her face.

Out of bed, Sakura could confidently describe Sasuke with two words: not there. Even when he was home, she felt alone. The house felt cold, void of the cheer and warmth she had imagined naively during the days of their courtship. He expected certain things of her, such as dinner waiting for him either on the table or in the fridge, and a clean house as well as her sexual availability for him. She met these requirements easily - or so she felt - and had never caused him to complain. But he never praised her either. _"It's not like I'm waiting for him to give me a present when he comes home, but it would be nice to get a hug and a kiss, or a 'thanks for cooking my favorite dinner, Sakura'."_ It was as though Sasuke's mind was always somewhere else, and when she spoke to him it always seemed like she was interrupting something more important than her. Involuntarily, her mind wandered back to the day when Sasuke had gotten really mad at her and dragged her to the kitchen by her hair. In hindsight the memory was horrifying. It was true that he hadn't actually hit her but she saw the incident differently now that she wasn't there with Sasuke. If Ino had told her that a man had done the same to her, Sakura would have suggested that she drop the guy like a hot rock, then personally proceed to punish said guy – violently. She really should have said something to Kakashi, Hinata... anybody. Sakura bit her lip in shame. For all of her book smarts, sometimes Sakura felt like she was the stupidest girl in Fire Country.

"Is something bothering you?" Itachi interrupted her thoughts again.

She didn't even look at him. "No." she spat bitterly, trudging onward.

Something was definitely up between her and Sasuke.

* * *

><p>Sasuke sat on his bedroll, ankles crossed, staring at the fire that blazed in front of him.<p>

He was thinking about _her_ again. Being alone tended to do that to him.

Sakura had done everything that he'd asked of her without question. It was obvious that she was in love with him, head-over-heels. Rather, she had been. Lately, she seemed distant. But maybe that was his fault. The Uchiha remained stoic as he shifted his position, leaning to recline on the bedroll. He rested his face in his palm, his elbow carrying the weight of his upper body while his other arm lay across his hip. They had started to grow apart after the day he'd become infuriated with her sleep talking. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. The incident was clearly his fault, considering that Sakura couldn't control what happened in her sleep. In addition to that, she hadn't even been thinking inappropriate thoughts as he'd assumed. Sasuke replayed the memory in his head, analyzing it. Even now, he didn't see another logical course of action he could have taken. What was he supposed to do? Gently shake her awake and ask her what she had been dreaming about? Ask her nicely, "Hey there sweetie, why were you moaning Itachi's name in your sleep?" No way. Sasuke sucked his teeth. In a way, he still felt that she had deserved what she got. He didn't bother to acknowledge that the thought was irrational.

Would they be able to fix things when he came back from the mission? She should be home by then, this mission could easily go on for a few more months, although he hoped to push it along faster than that. His stratagem required that he regain Orochimaru's trust somehow, and that was guaranteed to take time. Unless Orochimaru decided to just attack him and take his body from the get-go, his team might wait for him for months in the wilderness. The summoning scrolls had a range of about thirty kilometers, outside of Karin's sensory range in case she happened to be in league with the Snake Sannin again. Thus, his team was shadowing him accordingly, staying about thirty minutes (as the crow flies) behind him. This was the reason that the mission would soon become so dangerous for his teammates. Thirty minutes away from Orochimaru's sound base for longer than a few days was thirty minutes too close. There was no alternative though. The mission had to succeed. Sasuke sighed tiredly.

As long as Sakura didn't figure out why he sent her to Whirlpool, he was relatively sure that they would be able to patch things up and slowly fix their marriage. He would win her heart back just as he had before. Actually, he had less work to do than before. She didn't hate him, and her distrust of him didn't run nearly as deep as it had when they first met after he was released from prison. As long as Itachi didn't get a hold of her then he'd be safe, and from the looks of things between him and Kakashi and Naruto, if they came out of this mission alive that might be enough to set him clear of their revealing his plan to Tsunade. If he could manage to keep this mess under wraps everything would be ok. Next time, he would go after his brother himself. Next time, things would be different.


	20. Chapter 20

Hello Reviewers and Readers alike. I'm sorry to see our SasuSaku Loyalist (& company) go, but the show must go on. I would also like to take this opportunity to advise you of my deviance from the actual Narutoverse world map. If you take a look at the actual map, I'm seeing Tori about where Oto actually is, and Oto and River to the northwest of Suna. In my mind's eye, Suna's border with Fire is expansive. I imagine Whirlpool to be about where Sea Country is actually located, and in my mind have replaced Tea with Waterfall. The rest of the map pretty much stays the same. Hopefully this clears up any confusion there may have been location-wise!

Enough ranting! Here's the story! Thanks to you all for your wonderful reviews! :D Oh yeah, and lemon warning ;)

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 20 : The Patient_

Itachi and Sakura continued on steadily to Lightning. At this rate, it would take them about two weeks, give or take a couple of days, to get to Lightning. Itachi assured her that their accommodations there would be at least as comfortable as those in Whirlpool had been. It surprised Sakura to find out that Akatsuki had covertly purchased properties throughout the five countries and more. Itachi had responded humorously to her show of disbelief, _"Did you think we lived in caves?" _Frankly, she wouldn't have been surprised but she did come to a realization that they were human, just like her, despite the rumors that surrounded the dark organization. They had needs.

Sakura had a hard time stifling a whoop of joy upon encountering their first town of the journey. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't wait to purchase a change of clothes and wash her own. It went without saying that she was looking forward to a long, hot shower after two days of marching through the wilds of Tori. Itai was a border town, they'd soon be crossing into the Land of Hot Water, then up through Frost Country and finally they'd forge across the border into Lightning. Sakura smiled broadly, looking ahead to the gates. At least in Tori, she and Itachi had little to fear in the way of shinobi, the guard at the gate didn't even speak to them as they entered the hamlet. Sakura felt a tug of worry at their first public appearance together, but it was unlikely that word would spread from Itai that she was seen in the company of the missing Uchiha. Hot Water might be a different story.

Itachi made it clear that he was familiar with the area as he led Sakura directly to a small inn near the southern edge of the town. The innkeeper seemed to recognize the nuke-nin but said nothing, instead looking to Sakura briefly, his hand hesitating over the collection of keys at his back. "Two beds." Itachi had ordered quietly, and the man handed him the key without further ado. The pair spent a surprisingly uneventful evening in the inn. Their food was delivered and the innkeeper himself brought the miso soup, gyoza and sashimi dinner up to them. Sakura was unusually quiet, and the two shinobi hit the hay early in anticipation of a long day full of traveling through the country of Hot Water ahead of them, a prospect that posed much more danger to the two of them considering Konoha's alliance with the country famous for its many onsen. Famous onsen also meant more people, and there were also a fair amount of shinobi throughout the land. Itachi and Sakura would need to tread softly if they hoped to avoid conflict.

Itachi roused Sakura early in the morning and they left Itai behind them quickly, but not hurriedly. Sakura expected a continuation of the previous evening's silence due to the stealth required of the duo for this leg of the trip, but she was sorely mistaken. Itachi had decided to get to the bottom of things today, and when the Uchiha decided on something, he got what he was after.

"Sakura, I need you to tell me about Sasuke." Itachi began shortly after they crossed into the rocky, hilly country of Hot Water. "It's very important to me that I know what is happening between you two. Perhaps I can help."

Sakura's mouth flopped open and she was at a loss for words, not because of shock but from anger. She thought she had made herself clear the day before about her feelings on the subject. Also, she finally noticed that he was addressing her informally, which just served to fuel the spark he had lit in her by mentioning the taboo subject again. She found her footing after a few seconds, however.

"Itachi_-san_, I was sure I got the message across to you yesterday," she spoke crossly, "I will not discuss Sasuke with you. It's a closed case!"

Itachi turned his head towards her, sharingan alight with his heightened emotion. "I'm afraid I cannot take 'no' for an answer, Sakura. You will tell me what has transpired between you two or I will have to force you to do so." He wouldn't go so far as to hurt her, but he would extract the information from her, regardless of the cost. If she ended up being cold with him that would be something he could handle, but he could not go on with his curious itch combined with the sinking feeling in his stomach that Sasuke had done something to her.

Sakura's lower lip trembled, but he could see a fire in her eyes that he had never borne witness to before. She had always been so calm and reserved around him, it was almost startling to see the rising fighting spirit in her. She stopped in her tracks and he could tell she was struggling not to raise her voice.

She failed miserably, of course.

"First off, you should be calling me Sakura-san, if not Uchiha-san! Second off, fine. I'll tell you all about your goddamned brother and_ what he did_," she spat, "but don't think for a second it's because you're pestering me about it!" she threw her pack to the ground in her state. She ground her teeth together and her hands balled into fists at her sides as she raged at him. "I guess you do deserve to know that everything you've sacrificed has been for a selfish, arrogant, power-hungry, wife-beating son of a bitch!" Itachi flinched at her colloquial referral to his mother but Sakura was nowhere near done. "A week after Shisui showed me the massacre I was finally getting some sleep. Your _brother_ came home early from his ANBU boot camp and heard me talking in my sleep, through my night terrors of _you_ murdering your parents. He assumed the worst, and without giving me a chance to explain grabbed me _by my hair_ and dragged me, kicking and screaming to the kitchen where he proceeded to verbally assault me, accusing me of all kinds of horrible things! He kept yelling at me, _"Where is Itachi?"_ and the like, never letting me get a word in edgewise. I tried to get him to stop yelling and give me a chance to explain, and he _raised his hand to me_. The blow never fell, but in retrospect, dragging me down the walk by my hair was bad enough, don't you think?" She was seething now, railing at him. Itachi was angered by her story, and he didn't appreciate being yelled at by the emotional kunoichi either. "Don't raise your voice to me, Sakura-san."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she barked a bitter, harsh laugh at him, turning her back to the angry missing-nin and taking a few steps. She didn't care. She'd fight him if it came to blows, even though she knew she'd lose hopelessly, and for the moment she let her guard down, realizing that the biggest threat in the area wasn't from Hot Water nin but from Itachi. "That's exactly what your brother said, you know." she uttered darkly. _"Don't you fucking raise your voice to me, Sakura." _every word she repeated dripped with the venom she felt coursing through her veins, adrenaline filling her body. "You know what?" She whipped around to face him, emboldened by the distance she had put between them, a false sense of security enveloping her. "I've absolutely fucking _had it_ with you Uchihas, with your demands, with your bullshit, with your need to _control_ every aspect of my fucking life!" she bent her arms bringing her fists up to her torso in her frustration. "_Fuck_ you, _fuck_ Sasuke, _fuck_ your little plans! Why don't you go find someone else to heal you or better yet, go find your brother so you two can finish each other off! Save me the headache!" She raged. "And if you don't kill him, I don't care, I've decided," she paused, and Itachi just stared, shocked, at the infuriated kunoichi. Her temper was undoubtedly a force to be dealt with. "When I get back to Konoha, I'm getting a fucking _divorce_." she hissed at him. It was Itachi's turn to find himself at a loss for words.

And the enemy chose that moment to strike.

Very quickly, Sakura found herself facing off with a Hot Water ANBU, out of her peripheral vision she could see that Itachi was handling two and her mouth hardened into a thin line. _"This poor fucker chose the wrong day to mess with Sakura Haruno."_ her Inner proclaimed angrily and Sakura hoped Itachi would see her attack coming when she unleashed it. She had never faced off with an ANBU before but as angry as she was, Sakura was positive of the outcome of the impending fight. She charged one fist with chakra and the other hand became a scalpel, and the two elite shinobi clashed. As the ANBU came in head-on swinging his sword at her, she stepped in towards him, out of reach of the mid-range weapon and threw everything she had into her punch, straight into the ninja's solar plexus. Immediately the mizu-bunshin exploded into a torrent of hot water and she rolled forward evasively from the sword strike that was guaranteed to come at her neck from behind. She heard the whoosh of the sword overhead and swept her leg out to kick the feet out from under her attacker, but the shinobi leapt gracefully backwards and away. He eyed her warily for a moment from behind his mask and she took her opportunity as it was handed to her.

With a cry, she drove a chakra-charged fist into the ground in front of her and the immediate area was broken up into a landscape of fallen trees and cracked ground, but the nin she was attacking had been smart enough to jump upwards, out of range of the attack. One of Itachi's had not been so lucky though, and was extracting himself from the rubble. But Sakura didn't waste her time with him. That was not her fight. The ninja above her was forming seals, fast, and only slightly worried, on instinct she jumped just in time. "Doton: Earth Cage Jutsu!" the nin had cried, and Sakura found herself twisting in midair to avoid the pillars of earth that threatened to trap her. It took all of her focus to escape the jutsu, finally she kicked at it, drawing chakra to her feet and breaking each new arm of earth that reached for her. Suddenly she felt her enemy's chakra flare behind her with killing intent, and she realized that he had known she would not be caught with such a technique. A fraction of a second too late, Sakura crouched and slid backwards, then propelled herself forward to avoid the deadly strike of his weapon.

"_Shit!"_ the enemy ninja's blade kissed her left shoulder and she pulled out of the shallow contact, daring to try to draw chakra to the wound.

"You don't have time for that, kunoichi!" He was behind her again and it was time for her to change tactics. Sakura ditched the chakra fist technique for the time being, throwing her chakra into enhancing her speed for a bit. Without the sharingan, this asshole would have a hard time keeping up with her. She took the liberty to smirk as she drew a kunai from her pouch rapidly, spinning and blocking his sword strikes skillfully with the short knife. Whatever skill she lacked in ninjutsu, she more than made up for in taijutsu. _"All I need is an opening..."_ But the enemy was damn fast, and had damn good defense. Her chakra speed was about to give out and she decided she'd have to sacrifice a little to get an advantage. Abruptly, she allowed an angular sword strike to push her hand, using the force behind his blow against him. Sakura dodged the strike that would have plunged into her neck and through her collarbone narrowly, sidestepping the sword and crouching under it as the nin lost control and balance for a split second, and instantaneously she struck out with her chakra scalpel against the back of his wrist, severing everything under his skin, forcing him to drop his weapon. Considering her lowered stance and the Hot Water nin's hesitation at the pain of her blow she now had an advantage over him, and she sprung onto her hands, sending a relatively slow but powerful kick to his face.

Sakura smiled with satisfaction as she felt the blow connect and his mask shatter under her boot. The ANBU flew into the ground with a dull crack, and she skidded away from him, wary that he would rise. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she felt the searing pain of her injury nagging at her shoulder, without examining the injury she was sure she had torn it open further and suddenly she became aware of the familiar light-headed feeling that came with blood loss. She took the precious seconds she was given and drew chakra to the wound to heal it superficially, grimacing at the realization that her energy supply was dwindling. She needed to finish this _now_, the enemy could not escape to report her joining sides with Akatsuki to Hot Water, or Konoha for that matter. Breathing heavily, her vision suddenly swam, and she recognized that the Hot Water ANBU was having a hard time getting up. She had a little more time. Hurriedly, she pulled a blood-replenishing pill out of her vest pocket, popping it into her mouth. Before she could take another step forward though, she heard the characteristic _fwoop_ of kunai meeting flesh, and the ninja in front of her sunk heavily to the ground, dead. Sakura threw her right hand over her shoulder immediately, now that the threat was gone there was healing to be done. She turned to face Itachi, still perturbed but considerably more calm now.

"I had him." She muttered. Itachi was closing the distance in between them rapidly, and although his breathing was also slightly labored, overall he seemed to be in good shape. There was a little blood trickling from his right eye, and behind him she could see the remnants of his black flames licking at the bodies of the fallen shinobi he had been fighting, but that didn't matter right now. She finished healing herself and pulled her arm away from the wound, but Itachi was quick, and grabbed it, pulling her body flush to his own. Without another word, he locked his lips around Sakura's in a fervent display of possession. Sakura was shocked, but with a moan she gave in to the fire that still burned in the pit of her stomach, her anger turning into passion. She ran her palm roughly up his neck into the hair at the base of his neck and gripped it. She knew she was pulling his loose ponytail askew but he didn't seem to care. Their mouths were open, their lips locked, and their tongues danced together, twisting and stroking each other in their lust. Itachi nipped at her muscle with his teeth and she pulled him into her face even more, devouring him wholly. Itachi took her forwardness as a sign, and tossed her wrist away from his hand, only to move his grip to her thigh, which he tugged around his own hip.

The instinct Sakura felt was irrational and it demanded she follow it. Sakura obeyed her body and snaked her arm over Itachi's shoulder, jumping up and sending her buttocks into his waiting hand, wrapping her other leg around his waist and pressing herself into his apparent arousal with another throaty moan. Itachi knew they needed to get away from there, he allowed Sakura to bite and suck needily at his throat as he carried her into the trees, running. He found a suitable spot and roughly, but not violently, pushed her back into a large oak. Sakura groaned appreciatively as he ground his hips into her core, attacking her mouth and face feverishly again. He gripped her neck just under her ear, thumb tracing her pulse heavily, while tilting her face toward him for better access. Sakura's hands left his tresses as she hurried to undo the fasteners on his cloak. Unhappy to break their contact, Sakura lowered her feet to the ground so that Itachi could remove the item, but she was soon rewarded as he threw it to the ground and the pair rolled onto it, hastily removing other articles of clothing. Soon, Sakura lay naked before him, legs splayed. Itachi rested comfortably in between them, pausing. The pinkette tugged wantonly at the waistband of his cargo pants, looking up into his lazily spinning sharingan through a veil of lust. Itachi stayed her hand, firmly but gently grasping one wrist and pinning it above her head. She could easily escape if she wanted to, but he was sending her a signal.

"_Let me do this."_

"Please..." Sakura breathed through her swollen, pink lips and Itachi took in her beauty, making her wait. Her pink nipples stood at attention from the cold environment and from her inner heat, and he ran his hand delicately over her breast, fingertips skimming the surface of her skin. She shuddered under his touch; Sakura arched her back pressing her soft mound into his calloused hand and he cupped it, squeezing it, kneading her nipple expertly between his thumb and the base of his index finger. Sakura had gone for so long without such attention she practically melted at his touch, she threw her head back with a groan and clenched her thighs around him in her need, digging her nails into her impromptu lover's shoulder.

"Itachi..." she addressed him breathily, implicitly asking for more. She wanted him in her, now. But he would have none of it. Itachi brought his face down to hers, releasing her hand and immediately she threw it over his back, splayed fingertips digging into his shoulder blade. She ran her hand up and down his back, bringing it to rest on his tight glutes, gripping them. Itachi smirked into her ear and in a leisurely motion, brought his hand up to the junction between her legs. Slowly, he prodded her opening and with a tedious thrust he sent two long fingers deep into her heated core. He felt her muscles tighten further around his digits and, after a moment of forging through her folds with his thumb, Itachi located Sakura's sensitive nerve bundle. He expertly dipped his thumb toward her opening, bringing his fingers out a bit and gathering her moisture on the pad of his thumb. He thrust back into her, rubbing the side of her clit tentatively with his now slick thumb. Sakura brought her hands to his waist, digging forcefully into the skin there and wrapped her legs around his hips. She turned her head aside in her ecstasy and opened her mouth in a voiceless cry, never had she felt the ministrations of one so experienced.

"Oh Kami..." she ground her hips up into his grasp, enjoying his manual attention thoroughly. She didn't think it was possible, but Itachi heightened her pleasure as his mouth found purchase on her sensitive nipple. His tongue swirled around the raised flesh, his other hand kneaded its twin while he continued thrusting into her and stimulating her now swollen bud. As she felt the heat compounding and tightening within her she flexed her muscles around him again, and Itachi knew she was close, he changed tactics and began rubbing his fingertips over the smooth patch of muscle deep within her womanhood, bringing his face to hers and taking over her mouth, forcing her to take quick, sharp breaths only at the opportunities he presented her. Sakura's heartbeat increased, the tension in her loins reaching a fever pitch as she felt the pleasure bloom deep within her core. She cried into Itachi's mouth, muffled by his continued efforts at ravaging her lips, and the second, stronger wave of her orgasm exploded from the pressure at her clitoris. She bucked her hips into Itachi's hand again and she saw white as she threw her head back and scraped her blunt nails across his back, the intense orgasm he inflicted on her rendering her senseless. Itachi rode it out, pressing his fingers persistently into her g-spot and holding his position on her clitoris, ceasing his motion altogether. His mouth and tongue staked their claim on her exposed throat and a few moments later, with a shaky sigh, Sakura came down from her high, biting her lip, hard.

Never in his life had he seen a creature so beautiful, she looked so innocent yet so wild. He had seen a side of Sakura that drove him mad, that drove him to this; watching her intense battle had riled him beyond the point of no return, and with a growl he removed his pants and threw her cloak over his backside before giving in to his urges, driving his throbbing length into her sensitive crevice. Sakura cried out with pleasure at his invasion, she felt Itachi filling every inch of her. He in turn felt her tight walls clamping down on his sensile member, and already he felt himself tightening at the sensations her smooth passage sent up his spine as she pressed her hips into him in her need. Itachi bowed his head, fighting the feeling, and he tilted her hips upwards, sitting up himself and thrusting against the front of her shaft rhythmically. Sakura had never felt anything like it before, he was driving her beyond rational thought again and her hands fisted into his cloak as she let out a long, low moan, and finally another intense wave surged through her body like an electric shock, setting every nerve on fire and commanding the spasms in her core that brought Itachi his own violent release, deep inside of the spitfire kunoichi.

A few moments later, after Itachi had spilt the last of his seed within her, he lay on top of Sakura, bringing her cloak up to cover them as the rested briefly. Sakura brushed the stray hairs that always loosed themselves from his ponytail out of his face, smiling warmly, entranced, and Itachi looked upon the woman in his arms with pure love. He felt a desire welling deep within him, a desire to make her his permanently, one that brought with it a twinge of despair, for Itachi knew he could never truly have her. He would come and go from her life like a mayfly; he knew his only company to her in the future would be in her memory. The sad thoughts drifted away from him much as they had arisen, in a haze, and Itachi slowly removed himself from Sakura with a tender kiss to her pink lips.

"We need to get moving." he whispered, gathering up their various items of clothing. Shivering at their separation and subsequent exposure to the cold, the pair dressed quickly and departed the area at a brisk pace, flying through the treetops out of necessity. Although Itachi felt drained he also felt strangely energized. As he looked over to Sakura she met his gaze with a genuine smile, and for once the silence between them felt comfortable. They had come to a mutual understanding, they had crossed into unknown territory together, and they both knew now that whatever price they ended up paying for their trespasses, it would be entirely worth every moment.

The next few days flew by as the pair made their way through Yu and Shimo without further incident, pushing relentlessly through both countries with renewed urgency. Although they had disposed of their ANBU attackers in Yu without too much difficulty (on Itachi's part at least), they wanted to avoid further confrontations at all costs. By the time they reached their haven in the Mountains of Thunder, Itachi and Sakura were nearly ravenous in their desire for each other. As soon as they checked the perimeter and disabled the traps around the safe-house they reveled in another round of love-making, christening their new abode. Above and beyond that, conversation was easy between Itachi and Sakura, she laughed easily and he smiled more often. She agreed to let him train her, and in return Itachi got the satisfaction of watching her grow under his tutelage, honing her skills to eventually become a truly deadly kunoichi. Together they figured out the reasons for her shortcomings, she had always been over-protected by her teammates and so never had the chance to improve basic skills like sensing nearby threats and correctly masking her chakra. Once he finished with her, she would be unstoppable. Of course, he also enjoyed seeing her the way he liked her the most, her will to succeed and survive burning in her eyes, her passion for life apparent in everything she did, now that she felt comfortable with him.

There was also an emotional change in Sakura. In a way she harbored pieces of the way she had been before Sasuke, but she was more mature now. She had evolved into a seasoned shinobi, having found the balance in between living for the moment and fighting for that life. She had let go of the childlike innocence she had clung to even after marrying Sasuke and embraced her womanhood as well. Sakura often talked with Itachi about what she might do when returning to Konoha, maybe she would join ANBU now that she was becoming more confident in her abilities. Itachi would tell her stories of his own time in the corps. Now that she was with Itachi she almost forced herself to push thoughts of Sasuke to the wayside, convinced that she would not let him control her life once she returned to the village. He would never crush her self-esteem again, she would make sure of that. The only thing that Sakura really struggled with was the knowledge that sometime soon, her comfortable life with Itachi would come to an end, as his fate was inextricably intertwined with Sasuke's. It tore them both up inside to think that their happiness would be so short-lived, but they made the best of each day they spent together.

* * *

><p>Just over two weeks after he had left Kakashi and Naruto behind, Sasuke opened his eyes as one of the traps set at the perimeter of his camp was disabled with a subtle clink of metal on metal. Alert, he rolled out of his pallet and scanned the area, daring the intruder to reveal him or herself. And she did, or rather <em>they<em> did. Sasuke was not surprised as the redhead approached him, immediately he summoned a small trickle of chakra to one of the scrolls at his side, giving the initial signal to Kakashi that he had made engaged the enemy. He would not be summoned unless he sent a second signal to both scrolls. Meanwhile, Karin slouched just out of arm's reach, frowning at Sasuke bitterly. Finally, with a snort, she adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and Suigetsu grinned over her shoulder at the notorious traitor.

"Orochimaru wants to see you." she finally spat at him, and right there Sasuke decided he would not hesitate to kill the abrasive girl if she so much as crossed him. For the time being though, he needed her, and without responding to her verbally he gathered up his few belongings and followed her away from his little camp.

Mission objective number one: complete.

Sasuke and Suigetsu followed Karin through the sparse trees until they reached... seemingly nothing. Sasuke did not display any surprise, however. He was well aware that Orochimaru's base would be virtually undetectable unless one already knew its location. It was the reason their mission had taken this drastic turn. With a few discreet hand signs, Karin activated the jutsu that would allow the three nin to pass under the barrier freely, and Sasuke mentally groaned.

They would not be able to summon beyond the barrier, he could not even send his teammates signals through the obstruction. _"Dammit all to hell. I'm on my own."_ Sasuke sucked it up, however, and passed through the protective jutsu without so much as flinching. Karin led him down a series of hallways, each looking the same as the last, but with his sharingan activated Sasuke was sure he'd be able to follow his own chakra remnants out of the hideout in a hurry if need be. Karin looked over her shoulder and smirked at the Uchiha and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. She knew something, and Karin was a horrible liar.

His mission was surely coming to an end.

Finally the trio reached a plain door and Karin grinned wickedly. "He's all yours, Sasuke-kun." It took a great amount of self-control for Sasuke to stay his hand, but he managed and entered the room. It was dark except for a single candle, his eyes adjusted easily though and he could make out the snake-summoning Sannin sitting up in the large bed, distinctly looking like an invalid. Sasuke's skin crawled at the sound of the voice that he had once hoped never to hear again, and he remembered again another reason he had left.

"Sasuke-kun." Sasuke could hear the smile in the creepy shinobi's voice. Orochimaru raised his head, looking at Sasuke through his stringy black hair with a lone, glowing green eye. "Come here, my dear." Sasuke cringed inwardly, and physically remained unmoving.

"Now, disobeying my first request certainly isn't a good step toward gaining my trust is it? Or are you here exclusively to try and kill me? Ku ku ku..." Orochimaru licked his lips thickly with that abnormally long, purple tongue of his.

"It seems you've already divined my purpose here so let's get started already." Sasuke commanded grimly, his hand straying to his sword as he gathered the chakra necessary for chidori nagashi to his arm.

Orochimaru cackled mirthlessly. "Ah the young are so quick to fight. But will you be _able_ to put up a fight, I wonder? Ku ku ku." Right there from the bed, Orochimaru began to form one-handed seals, and as he applied chakra to the last one his mouth opened wide and a snake began to slither out of the now broken jaw. It was enormous, and even Sasuke faltered at the dark chakra that surrounded him. Seeing as Orochimaru's previous body was now rendered useless, Sasuke deduced that he was about to try and take over _his_ body, and he activated his sharingan in response. The snake cackled at the sight.

"Your sharingan won't save you, boy! Now, I said _come to me_." the snake lunged at him and suddenly Sasuke found himself being held in place by a number of snakes, he was immobile. The Sannin was closing in on him rapidly, but at the last second Sasuke saw through his jutsu and with a sick smile he enjoyed the Sannin's protests as Orochimaru found himself intertwined with his own summons. It was Sasuke's turn to laugh. His shoulders shook with the effort and finally the young man threw his head back in his mirth. "You are blind, Orochimaru. My sharingan can see through any jutsu, and now you find yourself a victim of your own inescapable creation." Sasuke stepped to the struggling snake, radiating a killing intent and drawing his sword. "Do you know what else I see Orochimaru? I see you, dead." And without further pause, the chirping of a thousand birds filled the room and blood spattered across the walls as Sasuke mercilessly hacked the enormous snake that was Orochimaru into pieces.

Finally Sasuke extracted himself from the alternate reality Orochimaru had sucked him into, and although there was no more snake, blood still covered the room as well as his being. Sasuke was glad it had been so easy to kill the snake, without a doubt for anyone else the task would have proven impossible. But having the sharingan made short work of any ninjutsu, and Orochimaru was simply a fool for having overlooked that fact. Now came the hard part, making his escape. With a deep breath, Sasuke renewed his grip on his sword and kicked down the door, slicing through the first thing that stood in his way. He smirked with satisfaction as her startled eyes met his, but she never stood a chance, Karin's blood ran in the hallway before she could utter a word of protest, and Sasuke ran like a madman through the corridors of the building, mercilessly slicing through anyone in his path and butchering anyone who put up a fight. Tentatively, he sent chakra to the scrolls at his side as he ran, just in case the barrier had been broken since Orochimaru had been killed.

Today was Sasuke Uchiha's lucky day.

With another smile he disappeared into thin air, stumbling into Kakashi and Naruto's camp, still covered in blood from head to toe. The trio made their escape, a mad rush for the border with Suna as planned. Sasuke couldn't help but grin.

It had worked.

And now he was that much closer to his final goal.


	21. Chapter 21

Hey all, thank you for your thoughtful and motivational reviews! I had a hard time writing this chapter and you all kept me going! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 21 : Into the Fire_

Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi reached the village gates at about quarter to three – AM. After signing in with the on-duty chuunin there, the three walked tiredly down Konoha's main drag. They all stopped at Sasuke's side-street. An awkward silence hung between them. Finally, Naruto muttered a "'Night." and he and Kakashi turned from the lone Uchiha. Sasuke watched their retreating backs for a moment then turned, heading for his home. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Naruto walked together since their apartments were in the same general direction. Kakashi broke the quiet.

"I've been thinking about reporting Sasuke."

The blonde nodded. "And?"

Kakashi lowered his head slightly, eye still on the road in front of them. "There's not much to tell Tsunade, is there?" he spoke softly.

Naruto looked at Kakashi, anger burning in his eyes.

"Why the hell not! He tried to kill her!"

Kakashi threw Naruto a silencing glare.

"Did he ever admit to it?"

"Might as well have." Naruto hissed angrily.

Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura's obviously okay, and besides, the information you two collected on your mission went undocumented."

Naruto's eyes widened fractionally. "But Kakashi-sensei-"

"We have no evidence that we can use against him. Regardless of what we know, he's about to gain more credibility with the Hokage and the village, once we report that he offed Orochimaru single-handedly."

Understanding flashed across Naruto's face but he was still infuriated, and now frustrated to boot.

"Damn it! Are you serious? Tsunade baa-chan will believe us over him!"

"He'll never admit to it, Naruto!" Kakashi scolded him impatiently. "It will destroy his and Sakura's marriage if we interfere at this point!" Naruto's mouth slowly hardened into a grim line as he took in Kakashi's analysis of the situation. "Do you see that?"

After a few moments Naruto nodded despondently, accepting. Kakashi turned to head up the stairs as they reached his apartment complex.

"I'll see you later." he called, almost apologetically, after his former student. Naruto just nodded and waved at him, never stopping, just walking onwards.

* * *

><p>Sasuke knew as soon as he passed through the gates to the complex that Sakura was not home. He trudged, sullen, to his house. Not bothering with the lights, the young man walked to his room and stripped to his boxers, collapsing heavily onto the futon. Coming home from his mission offered him no comfort.<p>

He felt so alone.

His body was resting but his mind was racing. He had long since calmed from his episode in Sound with Naruto. Kakashi was a logical man, and after examining the situation, Sasuke knew that Kakashi would figure out that the Uchiha still had the upper hand. He also assumed that the masked nin would set Naruto straight. Hopefully Sakura would be home soon and they'd be able to fix the mess he had made of their marriage. Sasuke sighed hopelessly. There was nothing indicating that Sakura would divine the reason behind his choice of locale for her vacation, but he couldn't help and think on the words she had imparted to him so long ago...

"_If you don't tell me about important things, that counts as lying."_

Sasuke turned over in the bed, rumpling the covers. He couldn't tell her. He wouldn't tell her. He needed her.

Sasuke awoke early the next morning. Someone was banding on the door frame.

Loudly.

Sasuke groaned and disentangled himself from the covers, grabbing his pants and tugging them over his hips, fastening the buttons as he went.

"Coming!" he croaked. There was only one person who could be banging on his door this early. He'd gotten next to no sleep the night before and didn't appreciate being roused at the early hour. He slid the shoji open, but before he could get a word out, a red-eyed Naruto launched himself at Sasuke.

"The _fuck_ Naruto?" Sasuke jumped aside just in time to dodge Naruto's swift punch. Just as quickly, Naruto rolled, then from a crouch shot his foot out towards Sasuke's shins, clipping one with his attack. Considering that his blond teammate hadn't said anything yet and kept coming at him, Sasuke figured he wouldn't let up anytime soon. Sasuke ran out of the kitchen into the courtyard, Naruto practically breathing down his neck. He leapt out into the open space, turning and facing Naruto as he landed, gravel sliding under his feet. Naruto never stopped coming.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Sasuke activated his sharingan as multiple Narutos attacked him from all sides, and he dodged and dispelled each one of them just as quickly as they attacked. The real Naruto jumped in before the last clones disappeared and as Sasuke turned to him, his punch connected with the pale nin's face, sending him flying. Naruto kept on, following him closely. Sasuke got his footing at the end, and sent a lightning fast kick into Naruto's side. The blonde stumbled sideways, rolling through the grass next to the pond and regaining his stance quickly enough to block Sasuke's first barrage of blows. Sasuke was pulling his punches, and it just served to piss Naruto off more. He dodged the next punch, throwing an elbow up into the Uchiha's chin, which Sasuke dodged using the body-flicker technique. From his new vantage point, Sasuke aimed a punch squarely at Naruto's kidney. But Naruto was fast too. He appeared at his opponent's side as Sasuke leaned into the punch, and he landed another hit on the Uchiha's aristocratic face. Sasuke braced for impact at the last moment, and his own fist shot into the jinchuuriki's cheek.

Naruto didn't hesitate or flinch. He grabbed Sasuke's hand deftly and turned, throwing Sasuke to the ground and straddling him instantly. Sasuke attempted to block the punches that Naruto was throwing into his now bruised and bloodied face but he couldn't catch them all. After a few seconds he changed tactics, letting Naruto get on top was a mistake. While blocking what he could with one arm Sasuke drove his knuckles into Naruto's ribs, forcing the blond to lean sideways to cradle his side. Sasuke took advantage of the opening and rolled with all of his might to the right, rolling over the top of the blonde and regaining the ability to stand on his own.

Naruto rose as well and ran, frustrated, at Sasuke, throwing his shoulder towards the opposing shinobi's stomach. Sasuke sidestepped the obvious, slow attack while grabbing Naruto's arm. He easily flipped Naruto onto his back, proceeding to wrap one leg around the struggling blonde's neck and the other under his arm and around his back, effectively trapping him in a firm triangle hold.

"What the fuck do you want _now_?" Sasuke spat, thoroughly annoyed. He didn't bother with blocking Naruto's weakened punches; from this angle the jounin had no advantage and with Sasuke out of range there was no way for him to continue his assault on the Uchiha. Naruto fisted a hand into the lawn, defeated.

"I have to avenge... Sakura-chan..." he choked.

Sasuke scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Revenge?" he murmured, searching Naruto's face. Suddenly, Sasuke threw his head back, laughing, disgusted. "Revenge?" he repeated venomously. "Do you know the meaning of the word? Naruto, you will never defeat me, I _am_ revenge! You don't stand a fucking chance!" he screamed maniacally at his teammate. Sasuke released his hold abruptly and stood, Naruto immediately rolled over onto his hands and knees, coughing and spitting. Sasuke crouched in front of him, waiting for the blonde to raise his head and when he did, though the Uchiha remained stoic, Sasuke's sharingan was trembling with the force of his emotion. He looked to be thinking for a moment, then he rose, his silent anger rolling off of his body in waves. Naruto bent his head to the ground, hands pulling violently at the helpless dead grass there, tears soaking the ground under him.

"_Sakura-chan..."_

He sniffed and stopped his crying.

"If I don't stand a chance at avenging Sakura-chan, then you have to make it up to me."

Sasuke stopped but didn't turn around.

"You have to fix this!" Naruto was getting to his feet, yelling at Sasuke's back. "This is all your fault!" Naruto accused.

A cold silence filled the courtyard.

"I'll fix it. Sakura is fine." He looked over his shoulder darkly. "This is none of your business. Leave me alone." The whispered words were filled with hatred and promised more violence should Naruto protest his resolution.

Naruto dusted off his black pants and sleeveless shirt. "Fine." he nodded curtly.

Naruto had just about had it.

Still not completely satisfied, Naruto realized he didn't want to be within the village walls with his slimy, hateful teammate. Right now he was screaming inside, he still felt like a part of him wanted to rip Sasuke to shreds, he wanted Sasuke to hurt. But that wouldn't do. He had to get away, but there was something he had to do first. He may not have been the smartest ninja, but he was not insensitive. Naruto almost ran down the streets toward his destination wishing uselessly that he had managed to master a teleportation jutsu that didn't require any complicated rituals. He couldn't get there fast enough. Finally he turned down the lane, surrounded on all sides by lavish homes. The Hyuuga clan didn't have a complex _per se_, but they dominated the neighborhood there on the opposite side of Konoha from the Uchiha complex. Naruto made his way hastily to the largest home, at the end of the street, and soon he found himself standing on the doorstep expectantly, already having rapped the backs of his knuckles against the door frame with enough force to wake all of the clan members in the home.

Before long, soft footsteps padded along the corridors within. Naruto sighed in annoyance, it wasn't Hinata. Then again, when had Hinata ever answered the door at her house? Probably not once in her life. The door slid open, and before Naruto stood an irritated Neji.

"Is Hinata up? I need to talk to her." Naruto sounded confident.

Neji eyed him scrutinously. "It's not Sunday, Naruto." he finally disclosed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Arguing with Neji at 6:45 in the morning was not on his list of preferred activities. "I don't care. This is really important." he huffed impatiently. "I don't have time for your bullshit today, Neji." Naruto frowned. _"Really, I never do. But right now..."_

Neji smirked bemusedly. "Would you care to tell that to Hiashi-san?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "If you don't let me in, I'm going to punch you to the other side of the house."

"If you try that, I'll gentle-fist you into the hospital, Naruto." Neji's eyes flashed, daring the blonde to take a step forward. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the pair stared each other down. Neji had been upset with the blonde for dating Hinata in the first place, and had been the one who revealed their secret relationship to the clan heads. Aside from that, he still harbored some of his superiority complex from his genin days, and as a special jounin, felt himself to be _above_ everyone else. It seemed as though he was the only person in the entire village who was immune to Naruto's friendliness and warmth. Both ninja heard light footfalls behind Neji, and Naruto smiled triumphantly as his favorite kunoichi rounded the corner, with not a little trepidation in her eyes.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-chan!"

Exasperation flashed briefly across Neji's pale eyes and he sucked his teeth as he stomped childishly away from the genkan. "Five minutes. And I'll be _right here._" he leaned against the wall and stared at Naruto. Hinata nearly skipped to her beau, throwing herself into his arms. He blushed lightly, but held her close to him in a warm hug.

"I missed you..." he murmured into her ear. She nodded into his shoulder and Naruto ran his hand over her hair briefly, caressing her. They pulled apart from the embrace, holding hands.

"I have to leave again."

The happiness in Hinata's eyes dulled infinitesimally.

"It's complicated..." Naruto faltered, trying to explain. _"Kami I suck at this."_ "It'll be a little more money for our wedding though."

Hinata nodded. As soon as Naruto and her relationship had been formalized it was assumed that the Uzumaki kid would be marrying the Hyuuga heiress, no questions asked. Their wedding had been put off for much longer than Naruto had wanted, but it couldn't be helped. Naruto was determined to buy Hinata her uchikake if it killed him. It was so personal, and he wouldn't allow clan heads or politics to interfere with his determination to do something special for Hinata.

"Naruto, why are you leaving? You look a little upset."

Naruto squeezed her hands. "I am. I need to get away for a little bit – away from Sasuke. Before I demolish the village trying to kill him." he growled, baring slightly sharpened fox teeth.

"Naruto..." Hinata whispered.

"Huh?" Naruto looked to her eyes and instantly calmed down. _"She's right, he's not worth all of this anger."_ His eyes bled back to their natural blue.

"I understand. I'll miss you and..." she hesitated. "I love you!" Hinata threw her arms around his neck. Naruto hugged her back even more enthusiastically than before. He breathed deeply, face in her hair, inhaling her clean, floral scent.

"I love you too." he kissed her head softly.

Neji pretended to retch quietly in the background. Naruto didn't even acknowledge him. Yet he and Hinata knew their boundaries. If they got even a little touchy-feely they might not be allowed to see each other for awhile. Best to play it safe as long as Neji was watching. They broke apart and Naruto brushed Hinata's hair out of her face, that face he wanted to kiss so badly...

"I'll be back soon. 'Bye."

Hinata smiled as he turned and she waved at him until he leapt onto a nearby rooftop and ran towards the heart of the village.

He was going to ask Tsunade for a good mission to get his mind off of all the craziness around him.

* * *

><p>Itachi woke just before dawn. The fire on the hearth had long since died, but the kunoichi who lay with her naked back pressed into his front kept him quite warm. His arm rested across her side and his hand lay across her hip possessively. He listened to her rhythmic, deep breaths and smiled softly. She always inspired calm feelings in him when he saw her sleeping. Her legs were intertwined with his, he noticed, her little toes wiggling occasionally in her slumber. He inhaled deeply, pulling her even closer and burying his face in her fragrant hair while wrapping his legs around hers, drawing her nearer to him in every way. In retaliation, Sakura fidgeted, fighting him for a moment, then she relaxed and gave in with a stifled giggle as he held her hands gently. She drew them to her chest, clasping them between her own and snuggled into the pillow.<p>

"'Tachi..."

He kissed her nape through her pink strands lovingly.

"Morning, Sakura-chan."

"Hmmm..." she sighed.

He held her like that for a few more moments, then rose slowly, sidling over Sakura and stepping gingerly across the cold floor to the fireplace. Sakura immediately rolled the blankets tightly about her body and turned over with a huff, shrugging her shoulders against the cold in the house. Itachi quickly lit a fire. He threw on a loose, long-sleeved shirt.

"Sakura." he walked over to her and shook her covered shoulder lightly. "Time to get up. Let's eat."

Sakura sat up, slowly stretching her joints. She'd slept so soundly...

"_Right, today I'm going to learn to fight the sharingan! Cha!" _Inner Sakura cheered. She jumped out of bed and yelped as her bare feet hit the cold floor "Wow, it's cold!"

Itachi smirked and watched as she dressed hurriedly. Sometimes she could be quite peppy in the mornings. _"When she wants to be."_ Itachi walked into the small kitchen that adjoined the bedroom. The small house was laid out similarly to a studio style apartment. By the time Sakura had dressed, Itachi had started cooking their simple breakfast of local fare. Black bread, hard boiled eggs, jam and coffee. Sakura sat at the small table and the silence was easy between them as Itachi made the toast and boiled the eggs. He set their plates down and joined her. With a quiet "Thanks for the food!" the pink-haired kunoichi tucked into her meal. She took a long sip of coffee and sighed after putting away the last bite.

"I can't wait to start!" her face was ruddy from the slight chill in the room, and her eyes shone with anticipation.

Itachi's eyes met hers. "This training won't be easy. You're past refining your basics."

Sakura didn't balk. "I need this. And you're kind enough to help me." She was determined.

"It's the least I can do." Itachi stood and the pinkette followed suit, gathering up their plates and utensils.

"We can talk theory while we wash up." Itachi grabbed a towel and Sakura nodded, flipping the tap on.

"The good news is that Sasuke most likely won't use a killing move against you. The bad news is that by the time you have to fight Sasuke, he will have gained the mangekyou sharingan." Sakura felt sad at the prospect, because that meant that Itachi would be dead. "The only way to avoid being caught by the mangekyou sharingan is by never setting eyes on the user to begin with."

Sakura stared at Itachi. "I'm going to be fighting with my eyes closed?"

"Yes." Itachi affirmed simply. There was no way around it. "I know you can do it. One thing that you have to your advantage is that I'm intimately familiar with Sasuke's fighting style. I trained him in the basics, so I can predict his moves."

Sakura shook her head as she handed him the last of the silverware. "What if he's changed?"

"It's not likely. If his taijutsu was anything like Orochimaru's then he wouldn't have made it this far."

"Oh." Sakura didn't seem convinced.

"I'll show you. Try to compare my style to Sasuke's." Itachi donned a light coat and the pair stepped outside into the cold. They started to go through their stretches and as Sakura stood to stretch her upper body, a pale pink and white plant caught her attention.

"Oh look, Itachi!" she walked to the edge of their clearing and he followed her.

"What is it?"

"It's a suruga-ran! I didn't think they grew at this altitude!" Itachi looked over her shoulder, as she was bending over the spindly plant. "Tenacious things, orchids." She leaned over the cluster of white flowers and inhaled deeply of its delicate scent. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Itachi didn't say anything. He wasn't much for plants but it was pretty, in its own way. _"It's mostly leave__s really..."_ but Itachi wouldn't interrupt her, even though she'd interrupted their stretching for a flower.

"Cymbidium ensifolium." she murmured softly, glancing over her shoulder at Itachi. "They taught us about it in our kunoichi classes. Flower arrangement and all that." She rolled her eyes, standing. "The story about it was interesting though."

"Oh?" Itachi raised an eyebrow in his curiosity as they walked back to their training area.

"Ha ha, yes, apparently the emperor of Wave had a young wife who didn't bear him any children for many years. One day as she was roaming the imperial gardens she happened upon a suruga-ran plant and after smelling it, she went on to give the emperor thirteen children! Can you believe it?" Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes again. "It's a cute story I guess, but thirteen kids? Come on!" she smiled at Itachi. "It's a silly tale."

Itachi couldn't help but smile back as they finished their stretches, and soon he stood a few feet in front of her, ready for their lesson to begin.

"Ready?" Sakura asked, dropping into a fighting stance.

"He'll attack emotionally first. So be on your guard constantly." Itachi walked up to her and grasped her hands, slowly lowering them to her sides. Sakura's posture straightened in response. "You won't be fighting like that, at least not at first. He won't _spar_ with you... hopefully it doesn't come to that. However, we will work on a way for you to really fight him later." Itachi frowned. "It's going to be close quarters at the start, he's going to grab some part of you, and you need to be able to wrest yourself from his grip. Let me show you."

Itachi and Sakura spent the morning grappling, and he taught her to escape and avoid several holds. They had a light lunch and pushed on once Itachi was satisfied with her progress.

"Let's add another step. As soon as you see my attack coming, move in like you have been and close your eyes at the same time. Lower your stance and use my weight and the direction of my attack to your advantage. Once you've pinned me, cover my eyes with your hand." Itachi made to slap her across the face, re-creating a standard domestic violence situation. Sakura ducked under his arm at the last second and moved in while closing her eyes. She hooked her knee into the back of his and threw her arm across his chest and tossed his body backwards over her knee. He landed on the ground lightly, expecting her tactical movement, and Sakura followed him down, landing on top of him. For a few fumbling seconds she groped for his face. Her hand finally came to rest over his eyes. "That was a good start. The throws are becoming second nature." Sakura smiled at the praise, eyes still closed. Itachi was happy with her progress as well. "You'll need to practice finding my face, but soon it will also be an instinctive move. The idea behind it is that you'll drive whatever weapon you have at your disposal into his weakest point." Sakura removed her hands and got to her feet along with Itachi.

"He'll kill me." She was afraid of Sasuke.

"Not if you put both of his eyes out. Almost anything you can hold in your hand can be turned into a weapon. A pencil, a spoon, a kunai, your own fingers. Gouge them out. Don't think about it for even a second."

Sakura nodded grimly. She hated to think of destroying Itachi's eyes, but self preservation was her number one priority, it was the driver behind their training. They resumed their practice. Itachi came at her all different ways and as the days went by her skills improved significantly. Sasuke would be hard pressed to trouble her once she returned to Konoha.

In the meantime, someone else was watching the days turn into weeks with worry. Tsunade had waited a full three weeks for word from Sakura. The winter festival was only two days away, and Tsunade's apprentice still hadn't returned to Konoha, contrary to the plans she had spelled out to the Hokage in her letter.

"_Sakura should have been home by now."_ Tsunade thought as she pulled the young woman's letter from her desk drawer. She had read it over many times, and if Sakura had promised to leave Atami within two weeks that would mean that she was two days late. Sakura should have written on the day she left, and she probably would have also sent a note upon reaching Hamamatsu. Tsunade stared at the paper in her hand as though it would give her the answer she was looking for. _"Akatsuki in Whirlpool..."_ the thought had crossed her mind more than once. If they had gotten a hold of Sakura, the chances of her rescue would be greatly diminished. The paper crinkled in the Hokage's hand as her grip tightened on it. There was no point in acting rashly, but it made sense at this point to send someone to try and find her. Not just anyone would do, either. She cursed mentally as she had sent the village's number-one tracker nin on a mission just that morning. Kakashi would have found the kunoichi quickly. But Tsunade couldn't be picky and time was of the essence. She would have to send _him_. Tsunade threw the light paper onto her desk and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. She knew he wouldn't stay in the village anyway, not after finding out that Sakura was supposed to have been home two days ago. She hated to send anyone on a mission so close to the festival, but there was no choice at this point.

"Shizune!"

Soon Tsunade could hear her elder apprentice clip-clopping up the stairs in her trademark heels. The short woman pushed the door open and peeked her head in. "What is it?" Shizune frowned as soon as she saw Tsunade's troubled face.

"Please send an ANBU messenger to summon Uchiha Sasuke. I have a mission for him."

"Sasuke is already here, actually. He's been waiting downstairs." Shizune replied.

Tsunade sighed deeply and nodded. "That's fine. Send him up."

The door shut with a quiet click and Tsunade took advantage of the solitude, making sure to regain her composure before breaking the news to Sasuke. _"Better not to get carried away with my feelings."_ Tsunade huffed to herself, but she couldn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. _"I feel like I've already lost her..."_ Tsunade blinked back her tears. She was genuinely worried for Sakura. In many ways, Sakura was like the daughter she never had. She had often admired Sakura's determination and passion for her career and her friends, and it would be a huge loss if Sakura never came back. _"Don't think about it that way. Sasuke will find her."_ Tsunade poured her hope into the possibility. Soon the door opened, and the sulky Uchiha himself stepped into her office. He took one look at the Hokage and knew that there was bad news.

Sasuke frowned as he stood in front of her desk and stared at the woman, hands in his pockets. He waited. Tsunade blinked at him a few times.

"Uchiha. Do you know why you are here?"

Sasuke bit his lip, exhaling heavily through his nose. _"Better not be..."_ "I came to see if you'd heard from Sakura." he replied evenly, moving his eyes up to the papers on her desk. There was a letter from his wife there, he recognized her handwriting immediately. "She wrote you a letter?"

Tsunade swiveled her chair away from Sasuke uncomfortably. This would be more difficult than she thought.

"That letter is three weeks old." the blonde Hokage muttered, leaning to pick it up and hand it to the Uchiha. Sasuke quickly scanned it. _"She should have gotten back to Konoha two days ago at the latest."_ "Any more word from her?" he reigned in his emotions. _"Best not to jump to conclusions. This letter may be three weeks old but maybe there are newer ones..." _he looked over the short letter again. _"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."_ That sentence was so different from the rest of the letter. It was almost as though she were sending them another kind of message, the emotion behind her last words was so different from the lighthearted tone of the rest of her message. Sasuke stared at the phrase, reading through it once more.

"_It can't be. She didn't know something would go wrong. I'm reading too much into it."_ Sasuke lay the letter back onto the Hokage's desk gently. Tsunade let out a shaky sigh as the silence between the two got longer, Sasuke was waiting for her response.

"Well?"

"Give me a moment, boy." she snapped at him. "I'm thinking."

Sasuke waited stoically as she gathered her thoughts.

"Sakura should have been home two days ago." The words were even more painful for her to speak. "I need you to find her and bring her home. After taking down Orochimaru, this should be easy for you."

Sasuke nodded resolutely. "So she's gone..." he hung his head and slouched his shoulders. He had hoped that for once, things would go his way. He had hoped that she would come home happy and safe, that he would be able to forge a new future for them. But now his short-lived hope was disappearing, and all that was left in its wake was an empty, black loneliness. Sasuke clenched his hand into a fist at his side and swallowed tightly. Sasuke felt heat rising in his cheeks as well as an unfamiliar tickling sensation on his face. His breath hitched and he reflexively brought his hands to his face and they came away wet.

He was crying, in front of the Hokage.

Tsunade watched him with a certain awe. She had never seen Sasuke display emotion in front of her at any other time, with the exception of his wedding day. He was always serious and quiet, to a fault. It seemed as though he truly cared about his wife, despite the way he and Sakura's relationship had changed since their marriage. She'd picked the right man for the job.

Sasuke wiped his eyes on his jacket disbelievingly. He felt so humiliated. But more than that, he felt guilty. He had thrown her into harm's way and now something really had happened to her. He was responsible. It was all his fault. He felt shame in his heart, and he felt worry for the woman he loved. And the tears wouldn't stop. Tsunade grabbed a couple of tissues from the box on her desk and walked around to him. In many ways, she was the mother of the village, and today she would be Sasuke's mother. Tsunade wrapped an arm around Sasuke's trembling shoulders and carefully pried his hands away from his face. He looked into her eyes and stiffened, startled at the contact, but he didn't fight her as she wiped his face with the tissue. His tears were slowing, but he was still crying, hiccuping, and Tsunade could see the immeasurable depth of his grief in his dark eyes. He was _hurting_. On impulse, she gently wrapped her other arm around him and he gradually leaned into her body, resting his face on her shoulder and letting more hot tears flow. "Shh..." Tsunade rubbed circles on his back as he wept and in her own way, she was comforted by the fact that she could be there for the infamously stoic Uchiha. If he couldn't be strong, then he needed someone to do it for him, and who better than the Hokage?

Finally, Sasuke's tears subsided. As he pulled out of her embrace weakly, Tsunade met his soft eyes with a stern look.

"Bring her back."

He didn't need any more convincing. Sasuke nodded and tried to pull himself together. "I won't come back without her." _"Dead or alive."_ the words went unspoken. With a nod, Sasuke walked to the window and left.

* * *

><p>Later that same day, Itachi and Sakura had just finished lunch. It was an unusually warm day so they sat outside for a few minutes, just enjoying the rugged beauty of the wilderness of Lightning country.<p>

Itachi's hand was in Sakura's and he smiled good-naturedly at her. "Two sandwiches today, huh?" his face neared hers and he planted a small kiss on her reddening cheek. "You were hungry?" Itachi smirked slightly as he kissed her cheekbone and then her temple, setting his other hand gently on her waist. "Shut up, Itachi!" Sakura huffed jokingly, swinging her legs up into his lap. She held his face and, no longer holding hands, they embraced each other warmly. Sakura kissed Itachi on the lips, smiling as well.

"I love you, Itachi." she whispered, taking his thin lips between her full ones again.

"Mmm. I love you too." Itachi had long since done away with any reservations concerning his feelings about Sakura. Their relationship was about enjoying every moment and living what was left of his life to the fullest. Neither knew how long their time together would last despite their mutual hopes for eternal love. There came a point where reality met their relationship and they both knew it would end violently. Thus they shared all aspects of their relationship with as much love as possible. The heated, passionate moments. The quiet, deep conversations in the night. The tears of sadness and longing for a better way. It was all part of what they had become.

Itachi picked Sakura up bridal-style and she yelped, her loud laughter ringing in the clearing afterward. Itachi put her down with a gruff laugh of his own and Sakura pouted.

"We really need to finish training. There's just one more thing for us to do." Itachi reminded her. Sakura stopped her pouting immediately and turned to run into the clearing, and Itachi playfully swatted her butt as she ran away from him, laughing all the way. He chased Sakura into the training area and finally grasped her wrists in between his after a short, puckish struggle on Sakura's part. He looked into her flushed face and noted her messy, short hair and her white teeth. _"She looks so sweet."_ He gazed into her shining viridian eyes for a moment and smiled sadly. He thought that he would miss her, if one could miss someone in the afterlife. _"Enough of that."_ He let her wrists go. Sensing the change in mood, Sakura waited for his instruction, quickly composing herself.

"We are going to train with the sharingan today."

"_Finally!"_ Inner Sakura cheered. _"It's been three weeks already!"_ The thought that she had officially gone missing two days before didn't even cross her mind. She had more important things to think about.

"Okay!" She tried to stay calm but she was still nervous about facing the sharingan. Although Itachi would never hurt her, it was a dangerous weapon.

"We can only do this a few times. The mangekyou sharingan takes a lot out of me, and I need my chakra for other things." Sakura could understand this. If they were attacked, which was always a possibility as missing-nin in a foreign land, Itachi would rely on his chakra to get him through a fight.

Sakura nodded, ready and waiting for his first attack. Itachi kicked towards her and Sakura closed her eyes instantly. She lowered her stance from her relaxed standing position and moved in to throw her arm behind his leg, using the force behind his attack to spin him in the air in front of her. Itachi intently analyzed her system for a weak point that he could use against her with his sharingan. As his body turned upside-down he noticed an odd concentration of chakra, larger than usual, toward her middle. There was no time for him to react though, in a split second she had him on his back and she had moved in for the kill, her hands were covering his eyes.

She let him go and his eyes bled to black as they stood. "Was that okay?"

"Yes." Itachi hesitated for a moment.

"What is it?" Sakura noticed his pause and awaited his criticism.

Itachi shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Ano, Sakura, could you just stay still for a moment?"

Sakura nodded and suddenly she felt stupid with her hands hanging uselessly at her sides. Itachi stepped back and away from her, indifferent to her discomfort and instead focusing his attention on drawing chakra to his eyes. It was unmistakeable now, he must have been spinning quite rapidly for it to have appeared to him as one chakra source during her attack. At her center of gravity was a large gathering of compressed chakra, and several centimeters below it was a smaller body of chakra. It was somehow different from Sakura's and his mouth opened slightly as he realized that it had a signature unto its own. Itachi walked slowly to Sakura, who now wore a worried look on her face. He turned off his sharingan and took her hands into his.

"Let's stop for today." Itachi led her back to the house.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Is there something wrong with me? Why were you looking at me like that?" Her voice rose in pitch and he could feel her hand stiffen. He stopped walking and looked her in the eyes. Those beautiful, deep sea-green eyes. "Please just listen to me for now. I'll explain everything in just a moment." Sakura looked upset, she was confused and felt left out, but for now she agreed tacitly and followed him into the house. Itachi went straight to the bed and sat down on the edge, patting the space beside him. His eyes pleaded with her to stay calm and listen and despite her urge to yell and argue, she complied. Throwing a tantrum wouldn't get her anywhere, and it looked like he was about to open up to her anyway. She sat next to him and poked at her ragged cuticles. Itachi sighed.

"Sakura, I hope this doesn't upset you. I don't know what to think yet." he was very honest with her. She kept on with her repetitive fidgeting quietly. "Have you noticed anything different lately?"

Sakura examined her hand nonchalantly. "No. Why?"

Itachi sighed again.

"Dammit, Itachi just tell me!" Sakura hit the bed with both hands, shaking her head frustratedly.

"Fine, fine!" Itachi grabbed her upper arms and turned her toward him. "I think you're pregnant." His face was very close to hers. Immediately Sakura burst into tears.

"Pregnant?" she broke out of his grasp and walked away from him, then turned back to face him. "Are you kidding? Is this some kind of joke?" she was yelling now. She wiped her face on her shoulder. "Is this a test? Are you going to attack me to see how I operate under stress? Because now would be the time!"

"It's not like that." Itachi rested his forehead in his palm momentarily, searching for words. He stood and faced Sakura, then lost his nerve and walked into the kitchen, pulling himself up onto the counter to sit. He felt so insecure, he'd never felt anything like it before. "I don't know what to say. I'm telling you the truth."

Sakura faltered, her mouth opening and closing. Finally she leaned her back against the wall and slid down onto the floor, face in her hands. "What am I going to do? Sasuke is going to kill me for sure now."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "No he's not. That's what all our training has been for." he pushed off of the ledge and walked over to her, confidence filling him once again. He crouched next to her, wrapping his arms around her. "You're going to be fine, and I still love you." He kissed her head and she continued to cry without responding. "I'll be here for you for as long as I can be, and then more if possible." Sakura's face turned to look at his. "I'm going to protect you no matter what. You and the child you carry." Tears continued to leak from the corners of Sakura's eyes but at least she was listening now. "Sakura," Itachi kissed her face where her tears rolled, their strong, salty taste coating his lips and the tip of his tongue. "This child was conceived out of love. Not manipulation, not lies, and not for anyone's personal gain." Itachi smoothed Sakura's hair and kneeled, pulling her close to him in a tight hug. "You know how I feel about you and I know you are being truthful when you say you love me. Don't you want a baby?" It felt so strange for him to say such a thing, but in all actuality he wanted to be a father to their baby as well. He felt his stomach twist with sorrow at the prospect of not being there for Sakura when their child was born.

Sakura nodded into his shoulder, sniffing. "Yes, Itachi, I want our child." he could tell that she was being earnest, but she followed her affirmation with a choked laugh. "Are we going to live in hiding forever now?"

Itachi was at a loss for words again, so he just held her silently. Sakura spoke again after her crying subsided.

"Are you really sure?"

"About staying with you? Absolutely."

Sakura shook her head. "About the baby?" her voice wavered.

Itachi tried to smile but ended up nodding instead. "Feel the chakra signature out for yourself. It's different from yours."

Sakura's eyes took on a faraway look as she tried to discern the tiny chakra signature within her own, and when she felt it she exhaled with a soft, "Oh." It had grown so gradually inside of her that neither she nor Itachi had noticed it, but now that she knew what to feel for it was obvious. The couple sat quietly for a few moments, thoughts about the future racing through their heads. Suddenly, Sakura barked a halting laugh.

"Well, I guess we know it's not _my_ fault that Sasuke and I don't have any kids yet!" it wasn't a funny comment, but she laughed quietly anyway. "Stupid." She shook her head. "Well, no more fighting for me. Thanks for teaching me while you could, Itachi." She kissed him lightly, still feeling vulnerable. "I'm glad you're with me. And you're right, no one will hurt me or our child, no matter what. I'll protect umm... it, to the best of my ability!" She picked herself up, both physically and mentally, and so did Itachi. Sakura looked around the house and finally her gaze rested on the eldest Uchiha. "We're going to fight with everything we've got and no one can stop us from carrying on the will of fire! Right, Itachi?" She put her hands on her hips. As an afterthought, she followed her declaration with a fiery, "Right, kiddo?" and she put a hand on her flat tummy and looked down at it, rubbing herself lightly.

Seeing Sakura like that really made Itachi fall in love with her all over again. Her eyes flashed with passion and confidence and she showed on the outside what a strong woman she was on the inside. She still had a feminine delicacy about her, but the way she carried herself warned everyone around her that she meant business. Sakura wasn't afraid, and she wasn't fragile. She was definitely a kunoichi who bore the will of fire, and Itachi didn't doubt for a moment that their child would be just as strong-willed as its mother, if not more so. He was proud of his little family. He stepped forward and scooped Sakura up into his arms, spinning her around, hugging her and kissing her. Without missing a beat, she kissed him back and he set her feet on the ground. They stood there together, happy for once.

"Let's celebrate. We've got rice and cabbage. I'll make you some onigiri. You can make me some tea and a couple of eggs."

Itachi laughed genuinely. "Okay."

Since the food was easy to cook, the pair were soon munching away at their impromptu celebratory snacks.

Itachi swallowed a mouthful of seaweed onigiri.

"Oh, I have some interesting news."

Sakura looked surprised. "What is it?" she took a bite of her soft-boiled egg.

"Winter festival is in two days."

Sakura took a quick sip of her warm tea. "Two days!" she stilled momentarily. "Then I've been missing for two days as well."

Itachi nodded in agreement. "But that's not why I'm bringing it up. The Akatsuki are celebrating the festival at the main base. We hold the celebration every year." He looked at Sakura. "You can come... I'm sure you'll be safe, since you're with me."

Sakura sputtered. "Safe?" she paled. _"After killing Akasuna no Sasori?..."_

Itachi nodded. "I've been a member since I was thirteen, remember? I know everyone. They know not to cross me. We'll be fine, especially now." He looked at her meaningfully as she chewed on the toast he had made for her. She really seemed to like eggs and toast lately, and he wondered now why he hadn't noticed her change in appetite before. Probably because he'd eat anything that looked and tasted like food. He looked up from Sakura's plate and realized that the pinkette was staring at him.

"Look at it this way, you'll be able to meet everyone before I get sent on missions with them again. You'll meet my partner. If I get sent on a mission, that means you do too. You'll have to accompany me as my medic and my 'hostage'." He explained the facts calmly.

Sakura sipped her tea some more. She realized that as a kunoichi of the leaf, she couldn't easily turn down the offer. It didn't look like she really had a choice in the matter anyway.

"Okay, I'll make the best of it, I guess." Sakura smiled weakly. _"Yay."_ Inner Sakura cheered sarcastically. _"This should be interesting."_


	22. Chapter 22

I'm going fairly canon with our Akatsuki members: Madara, Zetsu, Kisame, Hidan and Itachi. Hidan's alive, right? XD Eh, alive enough. Everyone else is dead.

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 22 : Alone_

Sasuke ran through the forest towards the nearest collection office. He had no idea as to where Sakura was, but if any Akatsuki seeking her bounty had caught her, he was sure she'd be at the office in fire, where the largest bounty could be collected. Sasuke cringed inwardly at the thought of her ending up in a place like that, just another cold body among criminals. _"We're all criminals somewhere though, aren't we?"_ All the same, he felt she was undeserving of such a fate. As shinobi, he knew she must have killed at some point, but he'd seen her bring life and healing to others more often than not. He pushed on, he was only fifteen kilometers away now. Mostly he hoped she wouldn't be there. But the reality of the situation was well within his grasp. He had to be prepared for anything. Finally his steps slowed as he reached the office. Shinobi and bounty hunters alike brought the bodies of criminals and those listed in the bingo books here to collect the bounties. The office was run by a man named Kyou, Sasuke knew him fairly well. Through his days with Orochimaru he'd found himself here on many occasions, on behalf of the Sound Village. In those days, he had been a different person, notoriously moody and violent. Sasuke hoped he didn't have to force information from Kyou, but if it came to that he wouldn't be averse.

This was for Sakura.

Sasuke walked into the dank men's room in the outpost and pressed the wall in between two urinals lightly. The putrid air around him shifted as the panel came loose and the hidden door opened up to the actual office itself. As if things couldn't get worse, the familiar rancid, repugnant stench of decaying flesh assaulted his senses. Reflexively, his throat closed up and he felt the sting of his eyes watering against the scent. This was a smell that brought back memories not only of being in this exact spot, but being near Orochimaru's research quarters as well. It was very unpleasant, to say the least. Sasuke stepped into the dark office and approached Kyou silently. The large man's eyed darted to Sasuke's empty hands warily, few came to the office without a body to turn in. Sasuke stopped in front of the man and looked down his nose at him.

"Do you need something?" Kyou spoke surprisingly softly for his stature.

"I want to know if someone has turned in a Sakura Haruno."

Kyou relaxed visibly. "No, here's the book, you can see for yourself." He picked up a tatty copy of this year's bingo book from his desk and handed it to the Uchiha. Sasuke flipped through the book until he found her entry. Sakura's serious face stared back at him, devoid of any mark that would indicate her termination. Sasuke tossed the book the short distance to Kyou's desk. Sasuke casually set his hand on his hip, revealing a bit of his ANBU uniform under his cloak as well as his trademark sword which was fastened to his hip.

"Have you seen anything else that might be of use to me?" He asked quietly, threatening.

Kyou was a fighter, but he was not a shinobi. He was also no match for a Sharingan user, as Sasuke had proved to him in the past. He eyed Sasuke's dark sword, then looked at the raven-haired ninja's face. Sasuke's features were almost impassive, except for his narrowed eyes.

"Well? Are you going to answer? Or do I have to make you answer?" Sasuke stepped forward and grasped the corner of the weighty wooden desk, tossing it easily into the wall to the side of the man with a crash. Kyou leapt to his feet and shuffled backwards as Sasuke advanced against him while drawing a kunai. The Uchiha's eyes gleamed with malice now, there was no doubt he was planning something horrible for Kyou.

"You know the protocol here, Uchiha." Kyou panted as he backed up against the wall. Sasuke was only a couple of feet away from him now.

"You're saying you'd give up your life to protect a bunch of low-life boot-licking criminals? Don't make me laugh." Sasuke spun the kunai deftly around one finger and gripped the shaft again tightly, raising the weapon to his chest, ready to bring the tool to his immediate use. "What have you heard?"

Kyou wracked his brain for information that the Uchiha might find useful enough to spare his life.

"Let me think."

Sasuke lowered the kunai slowly. _"Good, he's cooperating."_

"I can't tell you who has been here of course. But I hear a lot of other news about goings-on outside of this place." He spoke calmly now, but Sasuke could smell the man's fear among the many different stinks in the place. "Tell me what exactly you need, Uchiha."

"That's more like it." Metal clinked against metal as Sasuke placed his kunai back into its holster. "I'm looking for Sakura Haruno. She was declared missing yesterday by our village. I've been sent to retrieve her."

"Do you know where she was last?"

"Whirlpool."

Kyou's brow furrowed in confusion. "That's far away, isn't it? What makes you think she would have passed through here?"

Sasuke's face remained blank and intimidating, devoid of any emotion. "Last I heard, Akatsuki was in Whirlpool."

Kyou shook his head slightly. "I'm being honest when I say I haven't seen any Akatsuki in at least three months."

"Itachi and Hoshigaki, correct?" Sasuke waited for Kyou to agree. The collections officer nodded.

"So you already knew?"

"Never hurts to get confirmation." Sasuke paused. "So where is Itachi now?"

"I really don't know." Kyou stared at Sasuke's chest. He was being honest, but the Uchiha's questions were getting more and more dangerous. Where Akatsuki was concerned, only Fire seemed stupid enough to get involved. Most countries tended to try to avoid the organization at all costs. But Fire shinobi tailed them relentlessly when the Akatsuki crossed into their lands, and usually the shinobi on assignment died. Kyou closed his eyes as he remembered the pair who had been attacked right outside his own office that weekend so long ago. The silver-haired Akatsuki had killed Sarutobi without too much trouble. Then again, the Akatsuki guy had been immortal, or at least his partner had said so.

Sasuke had been quiet for too long. Kyou opened his eyes slowly, then blinked.

Sasuke was just staring at the man.

"Have any ANBU been turned in?"

Kyou nodded and Sasuke allowed him to go to the desk. After a few moments of digging through the scattered paperwork on the floor, he retrieved the bingo book once more. "Several have been brought into the office these last few months. One at a time, mostly. But just about three weeks ago, three Hot Water nin were brought in at once. Before that, there were two from River and another group of four Hunters were turned in... Hmmm, I think it was June."

"_Too far back."_ Sasuke took the book from the man as he flipped to the Hot Water section. Three ninja he didn't know. It wasn't a sure thing that Itachi had been involved, but it took considerable force for someone to eradicate more than one ANBU at a time. "Were they killed in Hot Water?" Sasuke asked, flipping to the River section.

"Yes." Kyou nodded.

"Did Akatsuki bring them in?"

Kyou shook his head. "I won't tell you who brought them in, but they were nobodies. They probably just happened upon the bodies. I overheard them talking about how it had been their lucky day. They picked up a hefty reward for those bodies." The man spoke matter-of-factly now.

"And these River ANBU?"

"Brought in by some Oto nin. I don't know who they were either, but they had purple ropes around their waists."

Sasuke nodded and shut the book. "Anything else I should know?" Kyou took the book from the now calm Uchiha and shook his head again.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Sasuke murmured. He turned from the man and silently left the room. Kyou sighed as the door to the hidden office closed with a soft creak. Sometimes he wondered why he kept his job at all.

Sasuke began his second run of the day. He'd become a formidable tracker during his time in Sound, but now he relied on Kakashi's advice, Sasuke was following his gut. It was rarely wrong. Sasuke would make good time, he should be in Hot Water within two days. He'd go up through Taka into Tori, and then he'd search Yu from one end to the other for clues if he had to. Hopefully he'd pick up some hints along the way. As he ran through the cold forest he tried to keep his thoughts away from Sakura. Despite the fact that his mission revolved around her, he'd have to keep a cool head and calculate the best way to find her instead of focusing on his feelings toward her. That was never a good strategy for a hunter. Sasuke smirked to himself. _"That's what I should do. I like working solo better anyway."_ The job was very dangerous but Sasuke thought it might be a good change of pace, and it would get him away from the team environment he detested so much. He knew he could do it. But he'd also be away from Sakura more. Sasuke frowned. His thoughts always seemed to turn back to her. It would be a difficult mission.

* * *

><p>It was early evening as Sakura watched Itachi from the porch. He was clearing snow from the ground in front of their little house for their teleportation jutsu. Satisfied with his work, Itachi took a small vial of blood from his cloak and spread it on the ground in a complicated design, using his chakra to manipulate the droplets to form the intricate kanji and symbols that that would allow them to travel instantaneously to the Akatsuki base. Sakura was fascinated by his jutsu, but when he called her to him she did not hesitate. She leapt up and slung their bags across her shoulders and fairly flew to his side, her simple black silk kurotomesode kimono fanning out behind her. It was one that Sasuke had given her just after their marriage, and no pattern adorned it other than their family crest which was embroidered in white on the shoulders and at the back of the garment, but its quality and beauty was stunning all the same. Itachi wore a new set of clothes under his Akatsuki robe. Once she had stepped into the circle of symbols, Itachi formed a few hand seals and set his palm onto the ground. The blood began to shine, emitting a bright claret light and suddenly Sakura and Itachi found themselves standing in a beautiful canyon, surrounded on all sides by tall, sheer faces of grey rock striped occasionally with russet and black streaks due to the minerals they contained. The space in between the walls of the canyon was wide, a small half-frozen creek flowed through the chasm and slender, young pine trees dotted the area. It was very cold there, so there was not much other greenery in the area, but a thick blanket of virginal snow coated the round rocks and bushes there, and even clung tenuously to the small rock ledges above Itachi and Sakura's heads. Sakura imagined the place must have been absolutely breathtaking in the summer and springtime. Itachi grasped Sakura's hand comfortingly and the pair turned around, and Sakura was further amazed at the scene before her. Nestled there in the canyon behind them was a sprawling traditional style mansion fit for a daimyo. The slate-tiled roofs sloped upward into points and there were even a few small windowed gables there. The pristine eggshell-colored walls were plastered delicately, and dark load-bearing pillars were evident throughout the construction of the mansion. Sakura didn't doubt for a moment that the inside would be decorated with the finest tatami and shoji available, along with scrolls of beautiful calligraphy and tapestries of the highest quality. She was not disappointed.<p>

Itachi and Sakura stepped through the front gates into a simple yet enchanting garden. Sakura didn't have time to take a good look, however; Itachi guided her to the front door which he slid aside for her. Surprisingly warm air greeted her in the genkan, and she smiled softly with wonder at the modern addition of central heating to the house. It must have cost them a fortune to maintain. Sakura slid on the slippers that Itachi proffered her and together they padded through the lavish entryway to the courtyard. Itachi smiled as Sakura cried out in her delight at the garden there. A large cherry tree dominated the yard, but there were many small plants and rock carvings adorning the area, and the creek actually ran through a third of it. A small stone bridge broached its width. The gentle tinkling sound of water running in the courtyard and the occasional _'tak'_ of the bamboo _shishi odoshi_ completed the garden's look and feel.

Itachi and Sakura made their way around the walk toward a lit room on the other side of the house, and Itachi slid the door open for her. She stepped into the room quietly, suddenly self-conscious. Her uneasy feelings had fluttered away from her easily as she admired the beautiful grounds, but now she was reminded of her place and in whose house she roamed. Before her was a low table spread with fine sashimi and side-dishes. Several carafes of warm sake as well as chilled, half-empty bottles of shochu sat on the table alongside the small glasses and cups that were used to serve the various liquids. A couple pots of tea also accompanied the meal. And around the table were seated four Akatsuki members. They all stopped their conversation and stared at her as she entered the room. A small awkward silence ensued, but Itachi stepped in soon after her.

"Good evening. May I introduce you to my medic, Uchiha Sakura?" Itachi introduced her by her married name, much to her surprise. Then she remembered that she was wearing the family crest, as well as her wedding ring. _"Of course."_ Not sure of what else to do, since everyone was staring at her still, she knelt to the ground and bowed her head, grazing her fingertips along the tatami in front of her in a full bow. "Hajimemashite." She murmured.

"Dozou Yoroshku!" a masked nin responded cheerfully from the table. Sakura raised her head and smiled nervously, but the men were no longer staring at her. They were inviting her and Itachi to sit and join the party. She felt as though she were in an alternate reality as she took her seat between Itachi and a silver-haired shinobi, while a half-naked white guy and a tall, blue mist nuke-nin sat across from her. _"Freaks on that side of the table."_ Itachi picked up a plate and began to serve himself from the food in front of them. Sakura did likewise, making sure to avoid the swordfish and the raw clams. At least it gave her the opportunity to look somewhere other than at the Akatsuki members she was surrounded by. Finally she poured herself and Itachi some tea, and the Akatsuki at the head of the table introduced himself in a surprisingly deep, commanding voice. _"He must be the leader."_

"Sakura, is it? A fitting name." he chuckled softly. "Allow me to introduce you to our organization. To my left you see Kisame Hoshigaki and my own elusive partner, Zetsu. Sitting next to you is Hidan, whom we only recently rescued."

Itachi turned his head to face the leader. "This is the smallest winter gathering we've had in years."

The masked man nodded. "True. Sasori, Deidara, Pein and Kakuzu. We are missing them all. Of course, we have you to thank for Sasori's murder, girl." Sakura choked on her tea, hastily covering her face with a napkin. The 'leader' laughed. "No matter. He retrieved the one-tails. It's all we could ask of him, ne? By the way, you can call me Tobi."

Itachi refilled the man's shochu glass. "And Konan?"

Tobi sighed quietly, then stole a sip of his bitter rice liquor under his mask. "A necessary expense." he muttered.

"_He killed one of their own?" _Sakura blanched.

Itachi stared at the man for just a moment, then focused on his food. Sakura followed suit. She was so nervous, she found herself simply copying Itachi in the interest of self-preservation. This Tobi person was obviously extremely dangerous.

"Damned bastard." The nin beside Sakura muttered darkly and Sakura glanced incredulously at him, meeting his eye for just a moment. She turned swiftly back to her meal, mortified. The man was obviously drunk, not only that but he was glowering darkly at Tobi. "The only broad in the whole Jashin-damned organization and you have to go and screw things up with her. I was hoping for a piece of that once Pein was offed. You know, she used to actually listen to me talk about Jashin-sama? Her soul had a chance!" The man was apparently some kind of religious fanatic.

"Please control yourself." Zetsu spoke quietly but menacingly. "I wonder if I digest you, will you die?" he mused, but his face was devoid of emotion.

Tobi laughed maniacally at the head of the table. Kisame heaped his plate with more fish. Sakura stared at the leader, bewildered. _"I'm surrounded by lunatics."_

"Hey, Uchiha!" the drunk called over her, leaning so that he could see Itachi around her back. "Is this your woman?" he pointed rudely.

"Yes." Itachi glared at the Jashinist.

"Damn." Hidan cursed and turned his attentions back to his bottle, tilting it toward the ceiling in his depression. He smacked his lips and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as it came away. "You know the worst part, besides the lack of babes in this place, is the bounty hunting. Always ending up in places that stink to hell, counting money that stinks like shit, dragging dead fuckin' bodies around. Bleaargh. Man, it sucks!" Hidan offered to pour Sakura a glass of shochu from the bottle he'd just been nursing, and she realized he was complaining to her. Horrified, she held her hands up. "No thanks."

"Come on." he pressured her. "Loosen up!" he nudged her with his elbow, and Sakura scooted closer to Itachi who wrapped an arm around her instantly and planted a kiss on her temple. "We're all S-class here. You'll be hard pressed to hurt anyone. Don't let him walk all over you." The words were whispered quickly, discreetly, but a little provocation was all Sakura needed. She stood over the purple-eyed Hot Water nin and grabbed him by his cloak, using her monstrous strength to haul his semi-limp form up to her face. He smiled stupidly, oblivious to her capability.

"Who do you think you're pushing around!" She yelled in his face while cocking back a chakra-charged fist, which she slammed promptly into his face. At the last moment, she regained her grip on his cloak in the interest of protecting the shoji from taking a beating as well, and Hidan's head flopped backwards like a ragdoll's.

Kisame and Tobi laughed loudly and Itachi smirked at Sakura's antics, as well as Hidan's misfortune.

"You had it coming!" Kisame choked, and Sakura dropped him onto the floor with a huff. Hidan sat up from the floor slowly, cracking his neck. "What the fuck is your problem!" He shook his fist at the group. "And I was just about to tell you all about Jashin-sama..."

Sakura looked down at him.

"I don't care." she replied coldly, and Hidan turned his head to the side, snubbing everyone in the room. Apparently this guy had a superiority complex.

"_Delusions of grandeur..." _Sakura thought to herself as she turned around and sat back at the table.

"Nice moves." Kisame threw the pinkette kunoichi a wide grin full of pointy shark teeth. Sakura found herself laughing back and Tobi was also laughing behind his mask. "Way to get your butt kicked, Hidan." Kisame snickered.

"I did _not_ get my ass kicked, ya stupid blue-faced bastard!"

"Ooh, we're all scared now, Hidan." Kisame taunted childishly. Hidan grabbed his cushion from Sakura's side and sat moodily at the foot of the table, nursing his bottle again. "Bitches." he muttered under his breath, but no one was paying him any mind anymore.

"So how long are you going to be around, Sakura-chan?" Kisame leaned on one elbow and stuffed some more fish in his mouth after his question.

"Well, I guess I will be here for as long as Itachi needs me."

"Open relationship?" Zetsu asked casually, callously.

Everyone at the table stared at him with a mix of disgust and disbelief. Tobi face-palmed. "Zetsu, you're just stupid."

"What?" Zetsu asked seriously. "I wouldn't know, I'm a _plant_!" he said in his defense. He had a point.

Sakura shook her head. "Okay, please tell me that you and Tobi are relatively normal compared to these two?" she glanced hopefully from Kisame to Tobi.

"Ha, me and Uchiha are the most normal ones here." Hidan waved his bottle over the table. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"He's right." Kisame shrugged sadly. "I'm blue all over."

"You haven't said anything weird yet."

Kisame smiled, and Sakura returned the expression warily. _"Lunatics, remember?"_ Inner Sakura reminded her. Itachi slipped a hand possessively around her waist and in response Sakura rested a hand on his thigh. She met his eyes. They were dark and smouldered with some hidden emotion, but he also looked slightly worried. "Sakura we are going to talk shop for a bit. You can explore the house and the garden in the meantime. Feel free to roam the area. Don't try to escape, though. You'll regret it." His last words sounded threatening, but they had rehearsed for this moment. Sakura feigned a frightened nod, then 'stumbled' from the room onto the walk, closing the shoji 'shakily' behind herself, hopefully convincing the occupants of the room that she was terrified of Itachi on some level. Itachi narrowed his eyes at her back as she left the room and finally the Akatsuki had some space to themselves.

"You should have informed me that you were bringing a guest."

"Didn't you always say we could bring friends, Madara-san?"

"You know I didn't mean the Hokage's apprentice."

Kisame interjected, "I thought she was nice."

Zetsu and Tobi threw him twin death glares, but Kisame didn't flinch. "She was!"

Hidan smirked devilishly. "Who cares, the bitch is here now. Want me to take care of her? Jashin-sama would love to get a gorgeous fucking sacrifice like her. You can have the bounty when I'm done with her." His question was directed to Madara. Hidan's eyes grew dark with bloodlust.

"I need her." Itachi answered for Madara smoothly. "She's a medic."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Itachi-kun." Madara's words fell softly from his lips. Itachi nodded nearly imperceptibly, simultaneously taking a minute sip of his sake. Zetsu leaned forward onto the table.

"Is she really _yours_, Itachi? I wonder..." the albino man's yellow eyes narrowed and he smiled broadly in amusement.

"Trust me." Itachi half-lied. "She's loyal to me."

"And she's loyal to her village too, I'm sure." Madara coaxed darkly. "Come, Itachi, tell us how you came across such a kunoichi."

Itachi was quiet for a moment. "I found her in Whirlpool. She was on a mission there, and I took her hostage."

"And what makes her _yours_?" Hidan smarted off loudly.

"She has stockholm syndrome. She thinks she's in love with me, but in actuality she's terrified of me." Itachi lied easily, there wasn't a more calm person in the room. The other Akatsuki members stared at him scrutinously, with the exception of Kisame, who couldn't be moved to care wether the kunoichi lived or died. Finally Itachi settled for a half-truth to tie off the loose ends for his audience. "I'm taking _full _advantage of the situation." he imparted with a faint look of embarrassment.

"Che." Hidan sucked his teeth in disappointment and tossed back another swig of shochu. Madara glared at him for a little longer and Zetsu sighed. Kisame grinned slyly at his teammate. "Good for you." Itachi disliked talking about Sakura as though she were merely a conquest of his. But it was the best lie that would protect them both.

"Be careful, Itachi-kun. You're playing with fire." Itachi knew that Madara couldn't have missed her ring, nor her pregnancy. Nothing got by Madara's sharingan. Madara would have known that Itachi hadn't gotten that ring from the complex as well. Madara knew which Uchiha Sakura belonged to, yet he didn't deter Itachi from his relationship with her directly. He only gave Itachi a warning. Itachi felt a little worry at this, worry that Madara was planning something. But the feeling was faint. Itachi was confident that the true Uchiha patriarch could not touch Sakura. He wouldn't give Madara a chance.

"Well then, allow me to give you all some missions, hm?" Madara's smooth, deep voice filled the room.

In the interim, Sakura loitered on the snow covered bridge in the garden, staring at the small fish that swam slowly in the cold, dark water below. The pale lantern-light glinted now and then off of the surface, and Sakura felt the peace and stillness in the garden envelop her. It was a beautiful place. Sakura sighed. She would make her garden back home look just like this when she went home, if she ever went home. Or perhaps she and Itachi could build a secluded house like this where Sasuke could never find them. Sakura shook her head and smiled sadly to herself. Her hopes were futile and she knew it. Despite her pregnancy and Itachi's love for her, she had a feeling that the plan would run its course, just as Itachi had said before. His brother would track them down and kill Itachi. What would happen to her remained a mystery. She tried not to think about it, but the topic kept forcing its way to the forefront of her mind. Would there be life for her after Itachi? She had to live for her child then, if there wasn't. Would she be able to live in Konoha after Itachi? She wasn't sure. Would she abide Sasuke if she stayed in Konoha? Sakura couldn't say that she would stay by her husband. She would much rather divorce him and raise her bastard child on her own. But surely Sasuke would know after one look at her and Itachi's progeny. The child was sure to look and act Uchiha, through and through. Sasuke would know it wasn't his. Even Naruto would be able to figure it out. Sakura rested her face in her hands miserably.

"_Sasuke... If you hadn't treated me so terribly, none of this would have happened."_ a few stray tears dripped into the water below her. Inner Sakura chose that moment to gently chastise the kunoichi. _"Sakura, you can't justify what you've done." _Sakura nodded slightly. _"To an extent, it is your fault that this has happened. But now that you've brought an innocent into the mix you must carry on, no matter what happens. You must be the responsible one."_ Sakura pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her eyes with it, so as not to ruin her expensive kimono. It was up to her to hold the Uchiha family together, and from the looks of things the Uchiha family would soon consist of her and her infant.

Abruptly, the shoji across from her slid open.

"Sakura?" Itachi called softly into the courtyard, his voice further muffled by the snow that covered the area.

Sakura rubbed her face hastily with the handkerchief, trying to create an illusion of redness across her face. "Yes?"

"Please come here."

Sakura walked slowly back to him after tucking her hankie safely away. "Is it safe?"

Itachi's mouth opened slightly at her appearance but nodded. "Would you like to say goodnight?" he gave her the option. _"No, I don't want to."_ she thought. But protocol demanded otherwise. Sakura nodded and walked into the room as Itachi placed an arm around her.

"Thank you for inviting me to your party." Sakura bowed deeply, bending at the waist. Itachi bowed slightly as well.

"We'll be heading home now."

"Oh, no! Don't leave now! It's much too late, you must stay here!" Itachi could almost feel the mischievous smile Madara hid behind his mask. "I've prepared several guest rooms for you all! Please make yourself at home." Itachi didn't miss the meaning behind Madara's words. _"Prove to me that she's really yours, and maybe I'll leave you two alone."_

"Thank you, Tobi-san. We appreciate the offer, and humbly accept it. Good night."Itachi's words were terse but grateful. He would play Madara's game, but the Akatsuki leader would know that Itachi knew what he was insinuating. It was insulting, but it would promise Sakura's well-being.

"Thank you, Tobi-san." Sakura bowed again. "Good night." the words dripped as honey from her lips, sweet and innocent sounding.

The pair left the room and Itachi guided Sakura down the walk silently. She could see that his jaw muscles were tense with feeling but she held her tongue. She'd talk when she knew it was safe. Itachi opened the shoji to the room nearest the entryway and Sakura went in first. There was already a futon spread out for the pair, and their packs were also in the room. Sakura slid her slippers off and flicked on a lamp that stood on the low, ornate vanity in the room, then grabbed her hairbrush from her pack. Sakura smiled slightly with delight at the luxury of the teak vanity, sitting down on the matching stool. Itachi watched her as she released the small coif from the nape of her neck. Her hair had grown just past her shoulders these last couple of months, and in the lamplight it glowed soft and bright.

"Itachi?" she looked over her shoulder, beckoning, and he responded by shuffling to her on his knees. He carefully untied the obi that bound her kimono at the waist. He had tied it for her to begin with, after all. With a soft "Thank you," Sakura stood and carefully folded the long strip of silk and laid it on the table, then shrugged off the heavy kimono and padded undergarment that protected her from the cold. Itachi had moved back over to the futon and sat there cross-legged, staring at her naked back as she undressed before him. Her pale, unmarked skin glowed in the lamplight as well, and Itachi realized that despite his efforts, lust for her was creeping up on him again. Sakura caught sight of his reddened face over her shoulder and tucked her own face coyly into her chest, pretending to be embarrassed as well. Yet her hands moved to the strip of cloth that was tied around her waist, it was the last thing keeping her from complete nakedness. She untied the knot at her hip slowly, sliding the garment down her thighs and stepping away from the white fabric that pooled at her feet. But she didn't go to Itachi.

She would make him come to her.

Sakura sat, turning her body slightly toward the lamp so that Itachi would catch just a glimpse of flesh protruding beyond her side. She tucked her feet under her seat and picked her brush up. She began to slowly drag it through her pink locks. Itachi slowly drew chakra to his sharingan and his tomoe spun slowly as he memorized the scene before him. So sensual, so feminine, yet so strong, Sakura didn't realize how her back muscles became defined, one by one, as she lowered her arm through her strands. She didn't realize that every time she raised her brush to the top of her head she leaned forward ever so slightly, exposing more of the effeminate curve of her buttocks to her lover. And she didn't realize that through the space under her arm, not only could he see the soft globe of her breast peeking past her ribs, but in the mirror her naked chest was fully exposed to his line of sight. Itachi took a slow, calming breath as he tried to fight the tightness in his pants, but thoughts of Madara listening or even seeing the pair making love were pushed to the back of his mind as a deep-seated want for Sakura clouded his vision and his judgment.

Itachi stood silently and walked up to Sakura and lightly placed his hand over hers on the brush. Sakura obliged him and removed her hand from under his, and he carefully stroked her hair from root to tip. The sensations on her scalp caused Sakura to shiver. It was always different when someone else did it. The mere thought caused her to blush as she remembered the times that Itachi had pleasured her, how he seemed to know her body as well as she did, how he had teased her and been gentle with her, how he had been demanding and sometimes a little rough with her. Sakura felt a small flicker of desire spark deep inside of her, and she wanted to fan the flame into a raging bonfire. She rubbed her thighs together slightly with a sigh, and the brush paused on her neck as Itachi took note of her movement. Quietly, he set the brush down and met her eyes in the mirror. She gasped slightly with surprise as his crimson eyes met hers in the reflection, but she had no time to react as Itachi's fingertips ghosted along her sides and his lips forged through her hair to stake their claim on her neck. He kissed her softly and drew a slow breath. His right hand traced light patterns along her still flat stomach and over her ribcage, and finally came to rest on her hyper-sensitive breast where her tender bud already stood at attention, awaiting his skillful touch. Sakura couldn't look into the mirror any longer, however erotic her vantage point had been. She threw her head back as Itachi massaged her, and he took the opportunity to place slow kisses on the place where her neck joined her shoulder. Sakura reached up into his hair and loosed it from its tie, weaving her fingers deeply into his black locks.

In return, Itachi held her to him tighter, he squeezed her breast and splayed his fingers across her abdomen, and Sakura could feel his hardness pressing into her arched back. She smiled at the sensation, he wanted her as badly as she needed him. Itachi's hand slowly forged lower and lower on her stomach to her mons, he ran his finger nails deliberately over the bare space and as he eased his hand into the area between her legs, Sakura opened herself to him. Itachi looked into the mirror while bringing his kisses up to her earlobe, he had a clear view of Sakura thanks to the looking-glass and his erection became almost painful with his desire as he watched his hand slide over her soft folds. Under him, Sakura shuddered; Itachi pressed his hand into her again while planting a kiss behind her ear and her hips rocked forward in an effort to increase the friction between her legs.

Itachi granted Sakura her wish, he slid two fingers into the valley between her legs, and immediately he felt her wetness. Without further hesitation, he plunged his digits deep into her and Sakura let loose a throaty sigh.

"Itachi..."

She whispered his name and suddenly he longed to taste her, longed to know her in every way, even more so than he had before. He spun the stool around and pulled it forward slightly, forcing Sakura to lean back onto the vanity and support herself with her elbows. He claimed her lips roughly with his own, she kissed him back and their tongues danced together, her sweet flavor mixing with the faint bitterness of the sake Itachi had drank earlier. Sakura reveled in their contact, holding Itachi's face with one hand, but soon Itachi moved away and kissed down her neck again, down to her chest, across her breasts and further down to her navel. Sakura had no choice but to open her legs for him again, and her breaths quickened as Itachi gripped her breasts tightly in his hands, then groped his way down her body to her hips. Finally he planted sweet kisses along the insides of her thighs, sucking and lapping at the creamy flesh there. He hesitated for a moment over her womanhood, memorizing it with his sharingan.

"You're so beautiful, Sakura." he murmured, inhaling deeply of her sweet, natural scent. He couldn't resist her any longer, Itachi dipped his tongue into the crevice between her legs and ran its length up and down her slit, teasing her and tasting her at the same time. "Ohh..." Sakura moaned softly. Itachi allowed himself to enter her, he slowly curved his tongue within her and pushed it back and forth inside of her. Itachi glanced up to see that Sakura was playing with herself as he pleasured her. He fought the urge to smile again at her beauty and after several more lazy thrusts, pulled his tongue out of her, instead running it up to her now swollen nerve bundle. He placed his lips over it and applied a gentle suction, it would be all he needed to hold her in place and prevent the interruption of her pleasure. Itachi took one hand off of her hip and ran two fingers lightly over her opening, never entering but applying a firm pressure to the edges of the muscles that joined there. At the same time, he massaged her sensitive bud with the round tip of his tongue, lapping at it gently but steadily. Sakura was panting loudly now, shaking her head, gripping her breasts tightly and trying to hold her legs open for him. Itachi felt her muscles twitch beneath his lips, he abruptly drove his fingers into her core again, angling them toward her navel, and he thrust inside of her without stopping the movement of his tongue. One thrust, two, she was rocking against him but he held on; three and her muscles clamped down on him; four and he held his fingers inside of her and flattened his tongue against her pearl as she cried his name in her release, uncaring of who heard them. Her hands pushed on the edges of the vanity, white knuckled, and she grunted as wave after wave washed over her. With a final buck of her hips she relaxed against him, and Itachi pulled out of her slowly. He raised his body up and lifted her forward to meet his lips, and she kissed him back passionately, blushing at the taste of herself on his face.

She smiled slowly and pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his pants, tugging it up over his head and taking control of the situation. Sakura ran her hands over his body as he kneeled there in between her legs, but she could do no more from her position. She lowered herself to the floor with him and let her hands run down the length of his spine lightly, sending the hairs at the base of his neck to stand on end. Sakura and Itachi made their way to the futon where she pushed him down onto his back. Sakura kissed his lips lightly with a giggle then moved to kiss him a little deeper, nipping lightly at his lower lip. Itachi raised his head from the pillow slightly to deepen their contact further but Sakura pulled back, biting her own lip and shaking her head at him, denying. She set a finger down across his lips, pushing him gently back onto the pillow. Itachi sighed shallowly in frustration. Sakura wasn't done with him yet. Smiling, hair cascading around her face and over her shoulders, she allowed the tips of her strands to run over his upper body and Itachi shivered with delight at the sensations. She swept her hair gently back and forth over his ticklish ribs and his taut abdomen, and finally she undid the drawstring on his pants. Sakura looked up at him through the roseate curtain of her hair and met Itachi's glassy red eyes. His chest was rising and falling a little quicker with each breath, and, never breaking eye contact, she freed his erection from its confines. She took her time sliding his pants off, smiling up at him seductively. She crept back up to his hips while running her hands over his legs. She kneaded his thighs with firm pressure from her hands, and she finally brought her hands to rest on his hips while she pressed her breasts into him. Itachi opened his mouth with a groan at the visual she granted him. Her hips were in the air behind her and she was grinding her chest into his sensitive shaft, Itachi felt an uncontrollable need overtake him and he bucked his hips up into her soft breasts.

"Shh..." Sakura broke their contact for a moment and repositioned herself over him, she pushed Itachi's hips back into the futon and Itachi pressed his head back into the pillow as her tongue traced its way up from the base of his erect member to the head, then around the ridge that bordered the head, her tongue dipping into the sensitive groove where the shaft met the glans. After making her way around once, slowly, she licked around the whole head with her tongue, finally lapping at the precum that dribbled from the tip. Itachi gripped the bedclothes at his sides, fighting the urge to thrust up into her warm mouth, and Sakura started again, licking and massaging the head of his penis with her tongue and lips, finally she closed her soft, luscious lips over the head and applied a gentle suction there while bringing a hand up to stroke his length. Itachi let out a broken half-moan, half-sigh. Sakura hummed against him in response and brought her head back over the ridge, then pushed more of him into her back over the most sensitive area of him. She repeated the motion several times, tantalizingly slowly, all while stroking and squeezing his shaft in time to the motion of her head. Itachi fought to control his breathing, it was coming in swift, ragged pants and he turned his head sideways, screwing his eyes shut while fighting the urge to let the pleasure take over him completely. Sakura slid her hand down and flattened it partly against his boys, while still encircling the base of his shaft with her fingers. Sakura pushed more of him into her, allowing him to reach the back of her throat.

"Un... Sakura..." Itachi panted, he couldn't possibly take much more of this...

Sakura pulled him completely out of her mouth and glanced up at him, his eyes were closed and his mouth was open, his chest heaving with each deep breath he took. She smirked, satisfied at the sight, and without hesitating further she took him into her mouth again, as deeply as she could, and sucked on his member, hard, as she pulled back off of him with a twist of her head. She repeated the process successively and felt his member twitch in her mouth and his jewels tighten against her hand.

"_Time to stop."_ Sakura pulled away from him one last time with a _'pop'_ and smiled up at him, licking her lips and running her fingertips lightly up his column. Itachi sighed and relaxed a bit at the lack of contact, but he needed her, _now_. Itachi opened his eyes and looked down at her, but she was already climbing onto him, her breasts pressing into his own chest, and she looked deeply into his eyes as she rubbed herself against him before positioning him at her entrance. Itachi placed his hands lightly over her hips, trying to guide her, but she resisted his suggestions slightly, pressing only a little of him into her at a time with a smile.

"You're bad." he whispered to her just before she kissed him again, and slowly, as her tongue delved into his mouth, she lowered herself onto him. They moaned together at the beauty of the feeling of being one, the mutual pleasure and tightness and wetness they both felt at their joining. Sakura gradually slid herself off of him and with a measured thrust of her hips rejoined him to the hilt. Itachi felt her lips twist into another smirk above his and she pulled off of him, only to press just the tip of him into her. She rocked back and forth over his tip, teasing him endlessly, and Itachi tried to thrust up into her. She stilled her movements and ended their kiss.

"What is it, Itachi?" she whispered.

"_Does she know what she is doing?"_ Itachi's eyes ran over her gleaming body, sweat glistening on her skin in the lamplight. With a cheeky grin, Sakura brought herself down onto him quickly, hard, and she rested on her hands as Itachi finally took what he wanted, she could hardly keep up with his breakneck pace. He pulled her down into him, hands on her hips and she leaned forward breathlessly as he plunged relentlessly against that soft circle of muscle within her, his pubic bone stimulating her from the outside at the same time. Itachi pressed on, claiming every inch of her with each successive thrust and he couldn't help but give in to the heady sensations that devoured him. Sakura felt Itachi twitch inside of her and with a final grind of her hips against his the couple cried out to each other in their simultaneous release, Itachi throbbing and releasing his seed deep within her, and Sakura clenching around him in her orgasm. Sakura dug her fingers into Itachi's sides as he held her tightly to him, pressing her into his body as though willing them to truly become one. Gradually their breathing slowed and Sakura planted a quiet kiss on his chest, where her face had come to rest. Itachi kissed her head in turn and whispered to her, "I love you so much, Sakura."

Sakura felt a tightness form at the back of her throat, but she wouldn't ruin this moment. She swallowed, willing herself to relax, and replied breathily, "Itachi... I love you too..." her fingers traced lazy circles on his chest as she reclined there, and she didn't remember falling asleep. Itachi stared at her for nearly an hour after that, wishing uncharacteristically that their moment could last forever.

Yet it was a sad moment, because Itachi felt a tug in his gut tell him that someday, it would all come to an end.

* * *

><p>The next morning Itachi and Sakura rose early and said farewell to the few hungover Akatsuki members that foraged for something warm to eat in the kitchen. Hidan was nowhere to be found, but that was of no consequence. Hand in hand, the Konoha nin walked out in front of the house and after one last look, Sakura and Itachi teleported to their little house in Lightning. Sakura sighed with relief as she set eyes on their humble home, but that's what it was to her now – home. As they sat down to a breakfast of warm miso soup, rice and eggs, Itachi briefed her on their next mission.<p>

They'd be traveling to Hot Water, he noted with distaste. Sakura chewed quietly on her eggs. She had no desire to fight again, but hopefully she'd be spared the stress of battle, as Kisame would be accompanying them this time around. He would be arriving that afternoon, and so Itachi and Sakura spent the morning inside while the snow fell quietly throughout the morning.

Some distance away in Hot Water, Sasuke trekked through the same snowstorm, though it was quite a bit heavier in the humid country of Yu. He'd heard from the townsfolk in Itai that a pink-haired girl and a man with a dark ponytail had come through. It had torn another piece of his heart out to know that she didn't seem to be a hostage, or so the villagers had gathered from her behavior. The innkeeper had gone so far as to mention to him that they had shared a room, although it had been a two-bed room, the keep had amended hastily. Sasuke hung his head slightly as he trudged through the snow. Again, he felt broken and tired. His grief and regret weighed heavily on his shoulders, so much that he nearly fell on his face as he tripped over a rock.

Sasuke stumbled forward, struggling to regain his balance, and he took a closer look at his surroundings. The ground in the area was broken up. Trees around the edge of the clearing jutted out of the earth at hapazard angles, and Sasuke knew he was on the trail instantly. This was Sakura's doing for certain. Sasuke fell to his knees removed his gloves, frantically sweeping away the snow. After several minutes of searching near the center of the cracked earth he found what he was looking for: a small fist-print on a tightly packed piece of ground. He ran his bare, freezing fingertips softly over the first sign of his wife that he had seen in months. It was all he could do to keep from breaking down into tears of joy, but he carefully controlled his breathing and slowed his heartbeat, then picked himself up and ran through the trees around the clearing looking for more clues. Soon enough he came to a tree and a glimmer of pink caught his eye, he reached up to it and pulled a strand of her cherry-blossom colored hair from the bark. He noticed the tree looked a little worn out as well, the bark was missing in some places, as though it had been brushed off. He pushed at it tentatively with his hand and found that it fell away, brittle and dusty in the cold. She had been here, against this tree. Sasuke's fingers dug into the bark and he pulled it away from the tree in a chunk, tossing it to the ground. He imagined her being hurt, being slammed up against the tree by some enemy nin, or Kami forbid, by his brother, and beaten senseless there. He imagined her bruised and tear-streaked face as she fought to block the blows that came, unable to protect herself.

"_Sakura!"_

He was so close. He had to find her. He'd make his way to the nearest town and see what information he could gather, and then move on from there.

* * *

><p>Kisame, Itachi and Sakura ran the short distance to the border between Lightning and Frost through the light snowfall, making good time thanks to Itachi's ability to use his chakra. The trio stepped light-heartedly through Shimo as Kisame and Sakura joked about Hidan's escapades of the previous night, and Itachi just smiled. Despite how much he enjoyed staying at home with Sakura, he was glad to be on assignment again, much as his kunoichi and mist-nin companions appeared to be. This was truly where a shinobi belonged, out in the world, trekking through the wilderness in search of the next mission that life might bring him. Sakura's mirthful laugh broke through his thoughts, apparently she found it hilarious that Kisame knew no jutsu that involved snow.<p>

"I'm a _mist_ shinobi, a swordsman, not a snowman." Kisame grumbled at her.

"But snow is just frozen water. You can't do anything at all with it?"

"Not unless you know any fire jutsu!" Kisame glared at Sakura, and she laughed again. Itachi caught her clandestine movement out of the corner of his eye, her hand had swept surreptitiously across a branch as she passed it and soon Kisame was sputtering and rubbing frozen powder out of his eyes. Sakura had lobbed a large snowball right into his face. She nearly doubled over laughing at the comical sight, but Kisame tossed a snowball of his own her way and it was her turn to glare and grump as she wiped the ice from her face and hair.

"Not funny now, is it?" Kisame smirked good-naturedly at her.

Itachi's smile soon turned into a frown, however. "Watch it you guys, we are still on a mission." the former ANBU captain's remark hit its target and his companions sobered up quickly, focusing again on their surroundings and the road ahead.

"At this rate we'll be in Yu in about a half an hour."

Kisame and Sakura nodded briefly, danger was but a few kilometers ahead.

Itachi sped ahead, anxious to find their quarry, and Sakura and Kisame followed suit. They'd bag the missing-nin they were looking for and drop him off at the collection office between Yu and Shimo, then head home. At most, it was a two or three-day mission, but if they were lucky they'd find the man with no trouble and be home in no time. Sakura smiled dreamily to herself as she thought of her own child leaping through the trees on his first mission _"or hers..."_ she reminded herself. The child would be graceful, a natural shinobi, unlike its mother who struggled for years to gain through hard work what others like Sasuke and Itachi inherently mastered through sheer talent. She imagined their future together, her suckling the child at her breast, teaching it to read and write, telling him or her stories of Itachi. _"Focus!"_ Inner Sakura reminded her, and with a jerk she was brought back to reality, feet pounding on branch after branch, one step behind Itachi. It was a good place to be. Finally the three ninja crossed into Yu, the going would be tougher here but they were close to a town where they could rest. All of them, including Sakura, donned conical straw hats adorned with narrow paper strips and they activated the genjutsu Sakura had learned only that morning. She did not have an Akatsuki cloak on, but the last thing they needed was for her to be recognized and captured. After killing Hot Water ANBU, she might not live to see a trial, depending on whether or not anyone had figured out that she was responsible. Better not to take chances, if they could help it.

The trio walked quietly into the town, heading to the nearest combination inn and restaurant to try and glean some information about the man they were after, one Hiroto Kumomushi. He was said to be a master of a mysterious supernatural jutsu, calling upon the spirits of the forest and the elements to aid him in his battles. Of course, they wouldn't let him get that far if they could help it.

As they walked into the inn the bells adorning their hats rang softly. The patrons of the inn didn't even look their way as they walked up to the bar and seated themselves there calmly.

One patron lifted his head from his warm tea and looked around tiredly, shaking his head. _"Weird, I didn't feel tired a minute ago..."_ He struggled to open his eyes further, then realized the tired feeling was brought on by an irregularity in his chakra flow, he was struggling to push it in the wrong direction. With a great effort, he pulled a kunai from the pouch under his cloak and pushed it through his pants into his thigh. Sasuke engaged his sharingan and had a good look around, and at the same time, Kisame notified the pair to the left of him to the threat, smelling the shinobi's blood on the air like a shark alerted to the presence of an injured seal.

"We've got company." he muttered. Itachi drained his cup and cast a furtive glance around the place. His eyes narrowed as his gaze swept across the spiky-haired ANBU across the room. "Let's get out of here." He whispered back, but at that moment, Sasuke turned his head to face in their direction and his jaw dropped open. There sat Sakura in between two Akatsuki, straw hat perched on her head. It nearly hid all of her pink hair, but there was no mistaking her slight figure. And next to her, his brother was glaring at him over his shoulder. Itachi sighed tiredly. There was no escaping it.

Destiny had to run its course.

He gestured subtly to his brother, _follow us, out the gates. Not here._

Sasuke nodded curtly in agreement. This was no place to execute his revenge.

"Come, Sakura." Itachi muttered to the nervous kunoichi and he steered her out of the inn, carefully blocking Sasuke from her line of sight. Every muscle in Sasuke's body screamed to kill his brother as Itachi placed a hand on his wife's waist all too comfortably, but there was nothing he could do. He threw some change onto the table for his tea and without another word he followed the Akatsuki out of the building, not thirty seconds behind them.

Itachi, Sakura and Kisame trudged slowly out of the town. Itachi only let go of Sakura's waist to take her hand into his tightly.

"Sasuke is following us."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat and she froze with fear, her hand went limp in Itachi's. "Don't you faint on me." he commanded. "Where is the kunoichi I know?" Sakura forced herself to breathe, breathe and walk, breathe and walk. "We knew this was coming."

"But... so soon?" Sakura faltered. She gripped Itachi's hand with renewed strength.

He looked at her fondly from under his hat. "Don't heal me." he whispered. Sakura's eyes watered as she remembered all of the times she _had_ healed him, but she knew what he meant. She _couldn't_ heal him this time. Her tears didn't fall, yet.

"Itachi, I love you." she whispered fiercely. "Remember what you promised me!" 

"Of course, Sakura. Until this moment, and beyond it if I can." His eyes met hers. "If what you say about the complex is true, then I'll be waiting for you when you get home tomorrow night."

Sakura's breath hitched and she stumbled blindly, the tears were flowing freely now. "Don't... don't say that."

Itachi stopped in his tracks. They had gone far enough. He spun Sakura to look at him, he had never seen her so weak.

"My time has come." the words were harsh, but quiet. Sasuke had stopped just within earshot. Itachi had to mumble so he wouldn't hear him. "I love you so much. You have given me more happiness in these last two months than I have had in my entire life. You will always carry a part of me with you, and you know that. Now go. Leave me to my fate." this time his words were not harsh, but instead he said them bitterly, and they were heavy with sadness as well. Sakura nodded once and squeezed his hand.

"I'll never forget you."

"I'll hold you to that promise." Itachi smiled one last time at her and she struggled for a moment as Kisame pulled her away from him. She had enough sense to pull her hand away though.

Sasuke looked on disbelievingly. _"What was that?"_ He didn't bother to look at his wife although he wanted very much to run to her and rescue her. Even now that he had found her, he could see clearly that there were other priorities in his life which must be dealt with first.

The snow fell silently in the clearing, deadening all sound. Not an animal stirred, not a breeze blew between the two brothers as they faced off, sharingan against sharingan. Itachi removed his hat slowly, tossing it away from him all while staring at his brother. And as the hat landed, the battle began.

Itachi walked toward his brother slowly, stopping only a few feet away from Sasuke. "Would you really stoop so low as to murder your wife for this moment, Otouto?"

Sasuke frowned at him. "I will have my revenge, no matter what the cost."

"You are a coward." Itachi spat the words at Sasuke and the younger Uchiha's eyes widened.

"How dare you?" Sasuke unsheathed his sword and ran at his brother, his blade alight with chakra. "You- you know nothing about me!" he screamed as he swung the blade at his brother. Itachi took the sword to his middle, his form contorting hideously, then erupting into a flock of screaming crows which enveloped Sasuke in a blinding group.

"You are the coward!" Sasuke accused, drawing shuriken from his pouch. "You killed everyone and then ran, leaving me all alone!" Sasuke threw the shuriken through the crows angrily as he thought he caught a glimpse of Itachi through the black, cawing mass.

"Poor Sasuke." Itachi's deep voice reverberated in Sasuke's ear and he turned just in time to see Itachi's red eye as the kunai plunged deep into his side. Itachi let the weapon go and Sasuke fell heavily to his knees, blinded by pain, all while drawing chakra to his sharingan.

The pair stood in the clearing, facing each other, nothing had changed in the last few seconds save for Sasuke's heart rate.

"_Genjutsu."_ Sasuke panted and slowly forced himself to regain his previous calm.

"You broke free." Itachi remained stoic. "I'm impressed." he remarked impassively.

"I'm going to murder you slowly." Sasuke breathed at his older brother.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. Sasuke drew several kunai and tossed them at his brother through the snow, Itachi deflected the projectiles with a few kunai of his own and dodged a barrage of shuriken easily. He summoned shuriken of his own and forced Sasuke to dodge as well. Finally as Sasuke landed from his last evasive maneuver, another Itachi appeared behind him and grabbed him firmly around the neck. Sasuke struggled against him as the real Itachi laughed heartlessly in front of him.

"Sasuke! We share a bond that only Uchiha brothers can share!" Sasuke felt faint from a lack of oxygen as he thought back to the day when his brother had said that to him as a child. It now took on a different meaning. "For generations, the Uchihas have murdered their brothers and cousins and sons to gain the ultimate power! We are a tainted clan, and now I will gain the ultimate power as the last Uchiha! I _am_ the new clan!" Sasuke struggled to maintain consciousness through the hold as Itachi stepped toward him, extending his arm and pointing two fingers at his younger brother. "_No,"_ Sasuke choked for air, Itachi's thumb was extended as well, and Sasuke fought harder. _"One more meter, one more meter..."_ "Sasuke, you are my spare eyes! You will be my new light!" Sasuke stopped moving and stared with fear and disbelief at his brother. _"He's gone completely insane. He wants to pull out my **eyes? **Not my eyes! Not my eyes!"_ Itachi was closing in on him fast, Sasuke had to defend himself and so with a huge effort he threw a hand forward, Itachi thought it was to stop him from taking Sasuke's eyes, but in an instant Sasuke's chidori nagashi had pierced his hand and speared itself all the way up through his heart. The bunshin behind Sasuke disappeared. Sasuke drove his chidori further through his brother and followed him to the ground as Itachi kneeled and coughed up blood. Slowly, Itachi seemed to fade away and close his eyes, and as his big brother closed his eyes, Sasuke blinked and stared across the clearing at Itachi. It was Itachi's turn to pant, exhausted.

"You've improved, little brother." Itachi spoke in earnest now. "I had to fight to get out. But that is not mangekyou sharingan." Itachi straightened. "Why have you come to me? You do not possess that which I require of you."

"I don't care what you want! I only care for your death at my hand!" and Sasuke charged at his brother, engaging him with taijutsu. He attacked as quickly as he could, sharingan blazing, but it wasn't enough, his brother blocked and dodged his every attack. Sasuke could see clearly that this was pointless, and a waste of energy for them both, and so he leapt backwards and skidded on the ground, forming the seals for a katon jutsu rapidly. Itachi copied him without a moment's hesitation and the two katon beat up against each other, melting the snow all around the area. Sasuke leapt away from his brother's jutsu suddenly, circling around Itachi and forcing him to follow Sasuke with his fire jutsu. Itachi stopped the jutsu abruptly, and Sasuke noticed then that Itachi's right eye had been closed, blood seeped from it and cascaded across his cheek in a crimson streak. Sasuke launched a few kunai at Itachi and forced him to block and dodge. Finally the elder Uchiha opened his eye and whatever met the gaze of his crimson pinwheel erupted in an inextinguishable black flame, the legendary Amaterasu. Sasuke ran just centimeters ahead of his brother's line of sight, everything was going according to plan. Eventually, Itachi closed his eye, he had exhausted it for now. Sasuke stood across from him haughtily.

"Now you will meet your end!" Sasuke raised a hand to the sky, and Itachi saw that for once, his brother had planned ahead. He had quite a strategic mind. Itachi kneeled on the ground, tired. He smiled to himself. _"Not yet, Sasuke. Just wait... a little longer." _Itachi looked up again suddenly as he heard the shriek of a beast, but he was sure that Sasuke had not used a summoning jutsu. _"What is that?"_ Itachi's eye widened and he hastily summoned the last of his chakra to defend against the strange attack.

"I see you gathering your chakra, but you can't – dodge – lightning!" Sasuke cried as he swept his hand down toward the earth with a cry of "Kirin!"

A huge blast erupted across the forest and at the last moment, Itachi managed to shield himself from the greater part of the attack. _"If he had hit me with that, I would have been done for."_ Itachi's breath came hard now, he was wheezing, and suddenly it hit him as it had when he first met Sakura. Sasuke watched incredulously as behind the shield of Susano'o his brother collapsed onto all fours, hacking up... was that _blood_? Sasuke panted as well, spent, and he stumbled, trying to keep himself upright. _"I'm all out."_ He looked on as Itachi clutched a hand to his chest, twisting the cloth there, bowing his head and now throwing it back, his intense pain showing itself clearly on his face.

Sakura watched from a distance, the tears streaming down her face, unable to do anything, too weak to interfere, too loyal to Itachi to help either man, even if she could.

Sasuke watched as Itachi slowly and shakily brought a knee up to his chest, then set his bloody hand on said knee, pushing himself weakly to his feet. Itachi then advanced toward his brother, shuffling along, Susano'o shielding him the entire time. Sasuke hastily pulled a kunai from his pouch and attached an exploding tag to it, tossing it at the impenetrable shield where it exploded dully, uselessly. Sasuke backed away slowly as his brother neared him. Itachi calmly raised a hand toward Sasuke's face, pointing only two bloodied fingers at him this time. Sasuke stilled as his brother reached him, and Itachi smiled genuinely, from the bottom of his heart.

He tapped his brother's forehead lightly and Sasuke's mouth fell open in shock as his eyes widened. Itachi's fingertips lingered on his little brother's forehead and a tear rolled down Itachi's cheek.

He spoke softly to Sasuke.

"Yuruse, Sasuke. Kore de saigo da." He smiled just a little more, and his fingers trailed down his brother's face, leaving a bloody trail across it. As Itachi collapsed onto the ground, Susano'o disappeared from around him with a final flare of chakra. Sasuke stared ahead blankly, trying to make sense of his brother's final words, and finally, he too slumped to the ground in exhaustion, his warm hand reaching for his dead brother's cold one.

Sasuke lay on his back and stared up into the cloudy sky, and the snow started to fall again.

"It's really over." he whispered to himself, but yet again he found himself crying. "Why am I crying?" he reached a hand up to his face to touch the tears that flowed there, then stared at his shining fingertips.

"_Why?"_

He heard her voice as though from afar, through a dream. Sasuke lay there quietly contemplating his hand, the feeling of his dead brother next to him, but next thing he knew she was next to him, screaming his name... no.

"Itachi! Itachi, no!"

Sasuke blinked and turned his head slowly. Sakura sat with Itachi's head in her lap, stroking his face and weeping bitterly over him.

"Sakura..." he croaked, extending his hand toward her. She turned her face toward him slowly and he cringed at the pain in her eyes.

"Sasuke..." She set Itachi down gently and closed his eyes, her hands lingering on his face. She made another effort to look at Sasuke and it suddenly became very clear to her what she must do. She would take Itachi and Sasuke home, and then she would leave the leaf.

She couldn't see them anymore... she couldn't tear herself apart anymore.

Sakura rose only to kneel at Sasuke's side and help him up into her arms. She held him gently, in a friendly way. Sakura stroked his back and held his head as he poured his pain out to her.

But she did not feel anything at all.

* * *

><p>OK, I know, it's almost Kishimoto's fight to the letter, but he did such a good job, ne? I cried like crazy that episode. Nothing gets the feeling across better.<p>

I hope you enjoyed it even if their fight was very very similar to what happened in the anime.

Yuruse, Sasuke. Kore de saigo da = I'm sorry, Sasuke. This is the end.

More to come yet. There's about 3-4 more chapters I think.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 23: Despair_

Itachi's eyes snapped open as he felt his body being shifted. He could hear sounds around him, but they were muted as though he were submerged in deep water. He could see the figure above him come into focus gradually, her pink hair and pale face becoming more and more defined as the seconds wore on.

"Sakura." He tried to call out to her but his lips wouldn't move. He saw her tears fall and she moved him off of her lap and closed his eyes, sliding her fingers delicately across his eyelids. Before the oncoming darkness surrounded him completely, Itachi felt a jerk behind his navel and suddenly he found himself floating above the ground. He twisted his body in the air to stand, and he set his feet on the ground next to Sakura.

"Sakura..." He began again. He reached out to her but she walked away from him and knelt next to his brother, cradling Sasuke in her arms. Itachi looked down at his hands, confused, and in front of him he saw his body lying still on the ground. He suddenly felt very cold.

He was dead.

Itachi looked back over to Sakura, and it all came back to him in a rush of memories. His time with her, his fight with Sasuke, the massacre, the years of loneliness. As he watched Sakura help Sasuke to his feet he remembered the promise he made her.

"_I'll be waiting for you when you get home..."_

As he remembered the words he felt as though he were caught in a whirlwind, the scene before him blurred and dimmed, and as his vision cleared he found himself in a very different yet familiar place. It was his old room. He glanced around briefly at the dark bedroom. There was nothing there for him. Itachi walked toward the shoji cautiously and extended his hand toward it, passing through it as though it weren't there. He didn't feel any resistance at all. Itachi stepped through the paper door and looked up and down the walkway of his childhood home for the first time in twelve years. Not much had changed.

Itachi decided to search the house for the spirits Sakura had mentioned to him. Hopefully they were still here, but then, they might not be he reasoned. He had condemned them to that state of existence to begin with. Perhaps his death had brought them peace and rest. For Itachi now understood the meaning of the phrase 'rest in peace' completely. As he wandered from room to room in the house he felt increasingly anxious, as though he'd forgotten something of utter importance and couldn't recall exactly what it was, although the idea seemed to be within his grasp. The feeling consumed his subconscious. Finally he made his was back to the storage room where his mother had kept her kimono. He heard the soft sound of weeping coming from the room and pushed past the door slowly, so as not to startle the woman with his presence.

"_If she can even see me..."_

There on a trunk sat his mother.

"Okaasan..." he breathed.

Mikoto didn't look up. "Sasuke, what have you done?" She whispered. Itachi didn't answer. Finally she looked up, and she narrowed her eyes at the sight of him. "Where is Sasuke?" She asked, almost accusingly.

"Alive in Hot Water, with Sakura." He answered in anticipation of her next questions.

"So Sakura is alive? She's been gone for so long. I was afraid for her."

"She was with me."

Mikoto cocked her head at him with curiosity. Itachi went on to explain almost everything to her, pausing at the end of his story. Mikoto listened quietly with few questions, but she noted the look on his face whenever he mentioned Sakura. How she had saved him and taken care of him.

"You loved her." It wasn't a question. Itachi frowned. It was the answer she needed. "Your brother's wife? How could you?"

There was nothing he could say in his defense. He knew it would hurt his mother more than he already had, but she needed to know the truth, and Itachi was not a dishonest man.

"She's pregnant." He stared at the floor, ashamed in the face of his mother's scorn and disappointment. Mikoto gasped softly, covering her mouth. Her eyes were full of shock and disgust.

"You seduced her."

Again, Itachi didn't answer.

"As though everything you've done up to now wasn't bad enough, you've defiled your brother's wife? Itachi..." Mikoto spoke softly, her anger bringing an intense chill to the room. "Get out of my sight." She whispered, turning away from him. "You aren't my son. I don't know you."

Itachi felt a deep pain swirling in the pit of his stomach and he turned away from his mother silently, leaving her to brood in the dark storage room. He stood outside on the walk for some time, staring at the barren courtyard, watching the sun sink slowly in the sky. Soon, the moonlight began to spill into the yard and Itachi thought back to the night he had killed Shisui. There had been a full moon that night as well. Itachi remembered how his cousin's blood had tainted the shining river that had become his grave.

"_Shisui..."_

Itachi looked up in surprise as he heard the sound of light footsteps on the rooftop, but he didn't move. Presently a figure clothed in full ANBU battle dress uniform leapt into the courtyard, crouching as he landed. The male figure rose from the ground, and even from behind Itachi would recognize the familiar tousled hair of his visitor.

"Shisui!" He called, extending a hand to the young man. Shisui turned around slowly, grinning at his cousin.

"Hello, Itachi." He said simply. "So Sasuke got the best of you after all?"

Itachi nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Shisui threw a hand behind his head. "I said I'd wait for you, didn't I?"

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise. Eventually he found words. "Thank you."

Shisui laughed. "Almost thirteen years!" He walked over to Itachi and the two sat on the walkway. "So what now? Are you ready to go?" Shisui asked quietly.

"Go where? Aren't we stuck here?" Itachi's words were bitter.

Shisui laughed again, ever the lighthearted fifteen year-old Itachi remembered. "Nope. I promised I'd wait for you. We'll cross over together." Itachi found that his cousin was smiling brightly at the prospect of starting on a new adventure with him. They'd been inseparable as children, then they had been on the same ANBU squad together. Itachi and Shisui had seen and done many things together, and when Shisui had found out about the clan's dark intentions that night, he had realized that Itachi would need his help in order to protect the village they both loved. He had offered himself up for Itachi's benefit and Konoha's, a truly selfless act. Itachi hated to turn him down.

"I don't think I can leave."

Shisui's smile dulled slightly. "Why not?"

Itachi sighed. "Do you know Sakura?" There was no point in trying to hide anything from his childhood friend. If anyone in the complex would understand him, it would be Shisui.

"Yes?"

"It's complicated, but Sasuke sent her to me, with hopes that I would kill or kidnap her. In the end she decided to help me of her own free will, I was very sick. And she fell in love with me."

Shisui raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Shisui, she's pregnant with my child, Sasuke killed me, and they're on their way back to Konoha now." Itachi held his face in his hands. "I can't leave her here alone with him. I hope she can defend herself, but I have to protect her in any way that I can, in case Sasuke tries to do something stupid!"

Shisui's mouth was pressed into a firm line. "You're right. Sasuke is a huge problem. He's dangerous and he's unstable. Lately it seems as though he's committed to making things right between himself and Sakura, but he's changed his mind before." Shisui was serious now. "We can protect Sakura together." Shisui's eyes flashed but he still did not smile. Itachi nodded. "She's the hope of the clan. I even told Sasuke that, but he doesn't listen."

"I know." Itachi agreed sadly. "But what do you mean about her being the hope of the clan?" Itachi questioned.

Shisui smiled softly. "There are many reasons for that. She's good at heart and she truly cares about... cared about Sasuke. She's full of hope and love, but she's realistic. She's just what the clan needs. And once your child his born, the rest of the clan will be able to pass on." Shisui smiled hopefully. "That's what I mean."

Itachi's gaze swept over the courtyard again.

"All the more reason to protect her."

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Sakura's return to the Hidden Leaf village was silent and uneventful. Sakura had nothing to say to Sasuke. She kept her eyes forward, unable to bear the sight of Sasuke lugging Itachi's body over his shoulder. She didn't meet his eyes as they parted ways at the gate, preferring to look out towards the rest of the village.<p>

"See you in a few." Sasuke had said.

Sakura just nodded and started to run again, leaping up to the nearest rooftop and heading straight for the complex. There were a few things she needed to gather there, then she'd be gone – hopefully before Sasuke returned from reporting his mission and depositing his brother's body at the morgue. The thought of working in any proximity to Itachi's body caused Sakura to cringe, but she was beyond tears. Without another thought, she leapt over the wall that separated the complex from the rest of the village and finally she leapt down to the house. She swept the door open, not even bothering to remove her shoes. Sakura lowered her pack to the floor and tore through the closet, throwing her mission bedroll to the floor and stuffing her uniforms into a larger pack. Lastly, she set her picture of Team Seven on top of the mess and strapped the rucksack closed without glancing at the nostalgic photo. Sakura quickly attached her bedroll to the bottom of the pack and shouldered it, clinching the straps tightly. She didn't know where she was going, but she had the feeling she was in for a long run.

Sakura turned to the door and this time she didn't flinch as she saw the ghostly figure of her mother-in-law there watching her. Mikoto looked at her with concern and worry.

"Where are you going, Sakura?"

"I'm leaving." Sakura kept her answer short.

Mikoto's eyes widened in shock and she looked around the room desperately. "Now?" Mikoto gasped. "In your condition?"

Sakura smiled bitterly. "So you know? I have to leave. I can't bear to see either one of them ever again. I need to move on, I need to protect my little one."

Mikoto sighed. "Sakura, you don't need to take these drastic measures. You can't run from Sasuke."

"I can, and I will." Sakura replied tersely. "I don't have time for this." Sakura stormed past Mikoto resolutely.

"Sakura, wait!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder, pausing. "No." She replied softly. "Goodbye." Sakura stepped into the kitchen, only to find herself confronted with the stern figure of her father-in-law.

"Why don't you have a seat, Sakura? Sasuke will be along shortly, then we can handle this in a civil manner." Fugaku's firm expression made Sakura's knees go weak and he set a surprisingly solid hand on her shoulder, steering her towards her usual seat at the table. Fugaku took his seat at the head of the table as Sakura set her pack down and sat to his left with her back to the door.

"Did Itachi seduce you?" Fugaku was direct with his question.

Sakura's mouth flew open, but she couldn't articulate her thoughts. _"No!"_ Inner Sakura screamed, but in the end all Sakura could do was blush and stare at the table, shaking from the sudden cold.

"So you broke your vows?"

This she could handle. "Didn't you see what Sasuke did to me? Don't you know that he sent me to my death?" she retorted quietly, darkly. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Stay faithful." Fugaku was very upset, his words were uttered icily.

"I've had it with this clan!" Sakura yelled childishly, pounding her fists into her knees. "I don't _believe_ you people!"

"Silence!" Fugaku raised his voice slightly. "You are in no position to speak to me like that! From the day you became an Uchiha, the responsibilities and reputation of the clan became yours! You are the matriarch, and you are all we have!"

Sakura's head whipped around to face Fugaku, and he was glaring at her, eyes red. The silence in the room was deafening.

"It's not something you can just put behind you." Fugaku finished dryly.

Immediately afterward, Sakura heard footsteps approaching rapidly, _pat-pat-pat!_ And the shoji slid open. Her shoulders stiffened with dread and she did not turn around. Fugaku turned his head and looked at Sasuke.

"Hello, Sasuke. Make yourself at home."

Sasuke stepped backwards in his shock. What little color was there drained rapidly form his face and his mouth dropped open. He raised his hands up to his sides and prepared to bolt.

"Sasuke." His mother appeared out of thin air at the door. "Please come inside."

Sasuke stared, wide-eyed, for a moment, then held his face in his sweaty hands. A strained whisper escaped his lips, "This can't be happening." Every fiber in his body wanted to cry, to scream, to run, to collapse in a heap on the dirt. But Sasuke couldn't move.

"Sasuke." Mikoto whispered. "Come on, it'll be ok."

With those reassuring words, Sasuke was able to move again, and very slowly, he walked into the house. He kept his head down as he took his sandals off, and stared at the floor as he walked to his chair. He sat heavily, then turned to stare at Sakura, seeking out some semblance of normalcy amidst the supernatural activity in his kitchen. But she wouldn't meet his eye.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Sasuke asked urgently.

Sakura felt as though her chest were expanding with pain and she couldn't breathe. She bit her lower lip in her distress and gripped her folded arms tightly.

Fugaku looked sternly from the kunoichi to his son. "Sakura has something to tell you." He said simply.

Sakura looked to Fugaku with tears glistening unshed in her eyes, pleading.

"No..." She whispered, shaking her head.

"If you can't tell him, then I will. Wouldn't you rather tell Sasuke the truth yourself?" Fugaku sounded calm, but his patience was wearing thin.

Sakura gasped deeply and clutched her hands to her chest, then doubled over in pain. Her eyes were screwed tightly shut, but that didn't stop her tears from escaping. Her gasping sobs were the only sound in the room. She felt so alone. Sasuke tried to be supportive. It hurt him that she didn't want to talk to him, but Sasuke didn't blame her for her stand-offish behavior. But her emotional outburst? … He could put that aside for now.

"Sakura, please tell me what's wrong." Sasuke probed. "I'll help you. Do you need help?"

Sakura started to cry loudly, half-sobbing, half-screaming in her agony. Her gut was churning and her chest felt like it was literally tearing apart. She fisted her hands in her hair and bent over her legs, forehead to her knees. Sasuke rose abruptly and rushed to her side, uncaring of what anyone thought. They were all dead anyway. He bent to hold her tense form, he shook her a little, then settled for crouching and rubbing her back.

"Please Sakura, don't do this. You're hysterical. You'll hurt yourself." Sasuke muttered, stroking her back. "Whatever it is, I promise I'll listen. I'm going to change. I'll accept whatever you have to tell me, I promise." Sasuke kissed the top of her head. "I promise." He repeated. "I love you." He reminded her quietly. Gradually, Sakura slowed her crying. Sasuke glanced around the room to see that his father was staring at her with a mixture of anger, distaste and disgust. _"What is wrong with him?"_ Sakura picked up her head and Sasuke immediately took her hands in his, searching her face. Her lips started to tremble again, but she took several deep, shaky breaths to calm herself.

"Sasuke..." She breathed. He stared imploringly into her shining dark sea-green eyes. "I'm pregnant." Sakura sucked in a deep breath and waited. A variety of emotions flashed across Sasuke's face. Disbelief, anger, fear, hate. His hands felt cold and heavy on hers. He finally responded. "What?" The word was whispered.

Sakura bit her lip again. "I'm sorry." She whispered back. Sasuke let her go and stood.

"You're serious." He accused. Sakura nodded, staring at her hands again.

"How did it happen? When?" Sasuke raised his voice, then his face hardened in understanding. "Itachi." he breathed the name hatefully. Sakura's knuckles whitened and it was all the confirmation he needed. "How could you? How could you do this to me? How could you be so irresponsible? You're a medic, for kami's sake!" he bellowed at her cringing form, sharingan alight in his fury. Sakura looked up at him, begging. "Please, I'm so sorry." She looked at his mouth, she could easily see that his bloodline limit was active.

"You cheating whore!" Sasuke raised his hand and brought it down toward her face rapidly. Without another thought, Sakura shut her eyes and with a feral lunge threw herself at his center, extending her leg behind his knee and flipping him onto his back. She landed heavily on top of him, knocking the breath out of him. With a decisive strike, she drove her fingers towards his precious sharingan. Sasuke blinked as they stopped mere millimeters from his corneas.

"God dammit!" Sakura cursed in frustration. "I can't even defend myself against you people!"

Fugaku was crouched at Sasuke's head, holding Sakura's hands away from his son's eyes with a steel grip. Sakura screamed incoherently, infuriated. Sasuke was stunned that she had managed to attack him and catch him off guard. She had very nearly succeeded in blinding him. Fugaku picked up the upset kunoichi and Sasuke rose to his feet, remembering his anger. Fugaku sent him a warning glance over Sakura's shoulder.

"Neither one of you will carry on like this any longer. You will both do your utmost to uphold the honor of the clan, and you will accept this child as your own, Sasuke!"

Sasuke balked at the thought and lashed out at his father verbally. "You're dead! You can't disappear from my life, then come back twelve years later to tell me what to do! I'm going to kill her!" Sasuke yelled in his rage.

"You promised you would try to make things better. You said you loved her." Mikoto reminded him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Please try." Sasuke tried to fight the urge, afraid it would break him, but he couldn't help but look at his mother. She was the person he had missed the most after the massacre. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he saw the pained look on his mother's face. "I know it's so difficult, Sasuke, but you two need to make amends. Everyone makes mistakes. Look at yourself before you condemn Sakura-chan." Mikoto brought her mouth to his ear. "Now is your chance to prove to her that you really love her. Take her back. Be there for her. You're the only family she has now." His mother whispered quietly. Sasuke hung his head as Mikoto drew back from her son. "You have quite a temper, Sasuke. Try to keep it in check." Mikoto smiled softly and disappeared in a wisp of vapor as Sasuke looked on.

"'Kaasan..." He reached out to her, but she was already gone. Sasuke turned back to Sakura to see that she was kneeling on the ground weakly, unmoving. He stood there for some time, staring at her back, feeling disgusted with her but acknowledging the fact that he had thrown her away in the first place. He would have to start from scratch, and so would she. Sasuke fought his desire to turn away from Sakura and leave her on the kitchen floor to wallow in her misery. They would do this the right way. Sasuke shuffled to her side and then crouched down to her level.

"Come on. Let's go."

Sakura continued to stare at the floor. Sasuke sighed and offered her his hand, placing it directly in her line of sight. She blinked and looked up at him.

"_She's hurting too..."_

Carefully, Sakura placed her hand in his, and he helped her up. He carefully placed his arm around her slouched shoulders and guided her back to their room wordlessly. Sakura trudged along with heavy footsteps, feeling betrayed. Of course the Uchihas would stick together. What had caused Sakura to think for a moment that she had a friend in Mikoto?

Itachi and Shisui sat on the roof sadly without saying anything. They had a difficult task ahead of them.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 24: Shinen_

Sasuke and Sakura sat at the table the next morning quietly. Sakura wore sweatpants and a hoodie, it was quite chilly that morning. She stared at her oatmeal with a somber face and moved it from one side of the bowl to the other with her spoon. Sasuke ate his gruel quickly, gazing unseeing at the table top. He finished and cleared his throat, the sound seemed harsh as it interrupted the uncomfortable silence.

"Hmm..." He couldn't bring himself to voice her name. "We should probably talk." He tried to sound inviting and friendly, but the words came out just as cold as he felt. Sakura nodded, then took a bite of her breakfast, signaling to him that she didn't _want_ to talk. "So... It's two months old then?"

Sakura froze and set her spoon on the table, chewing slowly. She forced herself to swallow the thick, cold cereal despite the sick feeling that weighed in her stomach. After a few tense moments, she nodded.

"And it's umm... healthy?" Sasuke asked, unsure of what constituted an appropriate question.

Sakura fought to quell the fear and anxiety that churned within her. "Yes, I think so." She whispered. "I'll go to the hospital for a checkup soon."

"Do you want me to go with you?" It was meant to be a gesture of goodwill, but from the look on his face Sakura could tell that the idea repulsed him.

"It's ok, I'll ask Hinata to come – maybe." She added quickly in the interest of avoiding conflict. _"It's not like the obstetrician will be able to tell it's not yours."_

Sasuke stood and took his bowl with him to the sink. "I should go." He said, almost to himself. And he was right. What would people think, as she got bigger and bigger and her husband failed to appear at her side in public? People would start to talk. Not that Sakura cared at all. But in the interest of preserving the honor of the clan (and what nonsense _that_ was!) it would be better if Sasuke accompanied her.

"That'd be fine." she acquiesced. "I'm going to go schedule an appointment today."

"I'll take you."

Sakura's eyes widened minutely, but she said nothing. She rose from the table instead, throwing the rest of her porridge away. She had completely lost what little appetite she'd had.

"I'll get dressed." She responded mechanically, faintly, and she went to her room to throw some clothes on and brush her hair. A few minutes later Sasuke and Sakura left the house and were on their way to the hospital.

Itachi and Shisui followed at a short distance.

"I don't like this at all." Shisui muttered.

Itachi shot him a dark look. "Sakura will be fine." Itachi reassured his cousin.

"We can't leave the complex."

Itachi didn't answer.

The pair stopped at the gate and watched Sasuke and Sakura's retreating backs as they stepped farther and farther away from the cousins.

"_She'll be fine..."_

* * *

><p>Sasuke had never seen such complicated equipment in his life. He hadn't known such things even existed. As soon as Sakura had made her intentions known to the nurse at the front desk, the pair had been ushered into and exam room by the chipper nurse. "The doctor will be down in a moment, Uchiha-sama!" She had assured the couple enthusiastically, and now they sat in utter silence in the darkened room, waiting. Sakura looked uncomfortable and sat very still on the paper-covered exam table. Sasuke stood in the middle of the room authoritatively, eyeing the various machines apprehensively. With each passing set of footsteps the aura in the room grew increasingly stifling, and finally Sakura sighed with relief as the doctor slid the door aside.<p>

"Sakura!" It was none other than Shizune. They _would_ send the best. "How are you feeling?"

"Ill." Sakura replied plainly.

Shizune nodded. "Okay, that's normal." She rolled a large console with an attached monitor over to the bedside and gestured for her kunoichi patient to recline. Sakura shifted her body gingerly over the crinkling paper, and she winced at the loud rustling sound. She was totally exposed to Sasuke and he stood over her like a harbinger of death, hand resting on the hilt of his sword as usual. His gaze swept over her body, stoic. To Sakura, he looked very bitter. Shizune hummed obliviously as she gently lifted Sakura's shirt up to her breasts and undid her jounin pants, stuffing a large, soft paper sheet in Sakura's panties as she pulled them down slightly. Sakura felt terribly vulnerable.

"Let's take a look at the little guy or gal!" She was more excited than either shinobi. Shizune squirted a bit of gel onto the now glowing attachment and ran it over Sakura's flat belly, pressing slightly as she went. The steady flutter of the sound of the infant's heartbeat filled the room. "That's the heartbeat you're hearing." Shizune quipped. "Oh, and look, you can see it there!" The senior kunoichi pointed to a mess of grainy streaks and shadows on the screen. Sakura nodded dumbly. "Here, let me move it a little..." Shizune shifted the apparatus on Sakura's stomach and the image sharpened a little. "There's the head..." She pointed it out, but now it wasn't necessary, Sasuke and Sakura could easily see the child's head and torso outlined in the sonogram image on the screen. Sakura sucked her teeth and held her breath to keep from crying. She felt and intense sense of pride and love welling up in her chest, as well as a choking sadness closing up the back of her throat.

"_Itachi..."_ Sakura kept her head tilted toward the monitor to hide the tears that fell on to the pillow. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the image on the screen. That bastard child wasn't his. Even in death, Itachi was stealing his precious moments from him and mocking him. The moment should have been a happy one, he should have been holding Sakura's hand and smiling softly with pride and happiness. Instead he felt like cursing his wife and her child. He felt angry and hurt, and he clenched his jaw against the bitterness that threatened to spill. The deep betrayal he felt pulsing through him was sheer emotional agony for the man.

Shizune's smile faded as she looked from Sakura to Sasuke and back to the screen. They were acting strangely, neither seemed happy. If anything Sasuke seemed as though he was about to lash out in anger or break down in sadness. Shizune examined the infant on the screen again. _"It's about two months along."_ She blinked in understanding. Sakura had been gone for a long time. She and Sasuke had only returned from Konoha yesterday.

This child was not Sasuke's.

"Okay. That's all then." She didn't bother asking if the couple wanted pictures, she could tell that a careless remark like that would only serve to incense Sasuke.

Sakura's eyes snapped open. "Thank you, Shizune."

Shizune nodded and shut the machine off, then wiped the gel from Sakura's abdomen. Sakura rose with another rustle of paper. "See you later." Sakura mumbled and she and Sasuke left. Shizune noted the distance between the couple.

"_Great, I'm going to have to tell Tsunade now..."_ Shizune sighed at the daunting task ahead of her. It would not be a pleasant one.

* * *

><p>Itachi and Shisui sat at the gate waiting for the couple to return.<p>

"Pretty boring, huh?" Shisui smiled lopsidedly at Itachi. "I spent twelve years waiting for you. Can you imagine?" He mused good-naturedly.

"I didn't realize you could be so patient." Itachi smirked at his companion. Suddenly he noticed some movement over Shisui's shoulder and the smile fell from his face.

"What are those guys doing here? I thought most everyone had to stay at home."

Shisui looked over his shoulder. "Oh, the patrol." He intoned with mild annoyance. "Let's get out of here..." He rose and so did Itachi.

"We aren't doing anything wrong." Itachi stated blandly.

Shisui shook his head. "Not exactly. But they won't be happy to see you, trust me."

Itachi sighed.

"Come on, let's just be on our way, we don't need to confront these guys."

After a moment of deliberation, Itachi replied. "That's not entirely true. I'm waiting for Sakura, therefore I'm not leaving this gate until she comes back."

Shisui hit his face with his palm. His cousin could be very stubborn at times. "Great..." He muttered. The three nin were almost there, and the looks of displeasure on their faces were already apparent. The trio stopped in front of the cousins and Itachi met their gazes with his head held high.

"Is there something I can help you three with?" He asked in his usual rumbling, confident baritone. He sounded cordial, but the aura that surrounded him suggested anything but friendliness.

"Itachi." The white-haired shinobi spat. "Back for more?" He scowled at Itachi.

"Not at all, Hiro. As a matter of fact, I'm dead myself." Itachi stated factually.

"No shit..." One of Hiro's dark-haired companions muttered sarcastically. Itachi shot the impudent spirit a piercing look.

"If you'll remember, I'm not a patient man. So, by all means, continue your patrol, gentlemen."

"Heh." Hiro huffed. "There's nothing you can do to us now." He taunted, crossing his arms over his chest. His lackeys mimicked his movements.

"Good to see you've matured over the last twelve years." Shisui muttered under his breath. Itachi narrowed his eyes at the boys but said nothing. Tense moments slipped by, and in the end the ghosts who had initially approached Itachi turned and left, muttering. Shisui sighed. "So troublesome..." Itachi turned away from his cousin as he heard Sakura and Sasuke's approaching footsteps. He looked through the gate at them, analyzing them. They stood a good distance away from each other, Sasuke was positively seething and Sakura seemed cowed beside him.

She was better than that.

Itachi stuck his hands in his pockets and followed them as the entered the complex, matching his steps with Sasuke's. His gaze burned strongly into Sasuke's back and eventually Sasuke looked over his shoulder, only to be greeted by thin air. The last Uchiha blew a tense breath between his pursed lips. _"This abnormal chill..."_ He knew they were being watched, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it. On top of everything else that had transpired that morning, the spirits in the compound were the last thing he wanted to think about, so he would ignore what he couldn't see. He led the way into the house as he and Sakura arrived.

"Tomorrow is Monday, I will go to see the Hokage about the transplant as well as your leave. You don't need to see her."

Sakura's eyes widened fractionally as she slipped her shoes off. "She may want to see me," She began.

"There is no need for that. You can stay at home and rest. In your condition its best if you stay in a safe place." _"A place where I can keep watch over you."_ The words went without saying. Sakura felt trapped, stifled. She had to get away from him.

"I understand, Sasuke." She rose to her feet. "I'm going to go prepare the... baby's room then, if you don't mind. I'll be there if you need me." She gave her husband a wide berth as she stepped around the table in the kitchen. Sasuke sat in his chair as master of the house, one arm resting on the tabletop, his piercing glare never leaving her body until she exited the room. The angry and commanding air he exuded was intimidating and Sakura had no desire for conflict at the moment. If she could just get around him for now and maintain the peace, she felt she had a greater chance at survival. Because that is what it had come to, Sakura was interested only in her survival. Already she felt the dull repetitiveness of life in Konoha coming over her like a familiar blanket. She could sense that she and Sasuke's routine would slip back into what it had been before, yet they had less. It would be a shadow of what they had had before she went to Whirlpool, and instead of trying to keep peace for the sake of peace she'd be keeping him calm out of a deep seated instinct for self-preservation. Sasuke frowned to himself as she left the room. He eyed the bottle of Shochu atop the fridge. One cup wouldn't hurt, one cup to ease his tension.

Meanwhile, Sakura paused in front of Itachi's room. He had heard every word, he had flown hastily to the room to disarm the few traps that remained. As Sakura reached for the shoji she heard the bar holding it in place hit the floor and roll over the tatami. A chill crawled up her back but she brushed it off, sliding the door to the small room open slowly. She stuck her head in and looked around, half expecting to find someone else there, but there was no one visible.

Sakura went in and closed the door behind her. Aside from a considerable amount of dust, the room was very organized and clean. There was no trash about, no clothes or weapons strewn around. The futon was made up near the corner of the room. The closet was shut but Sakura was sure it would be as orderly as the rest of the room. Sakura dragged her fingers across the dusty desk as she made her way to the closet, leaving her mark on the darkened room. She slid the closet open and saw immediately that it was not only where Itachi had hung his clothes, but also where he had kept his weapons and their cleaning agents. With a sigh she ran her hands in between his shirts, then slowly lowered herself to kneel by the low trunk that held his personal effects. She inhaled deeply of the scent in the closet, despite its musty quality it was definitely Itachi's. A little like rain, a hint of wood, and the lingering scent of oil for treating kunai. Sakura placed her hands on the lid of the trunk and pressed her thumbs harshly into the front of the wood, but did not open it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she did not fight the urge to cry in her solitude.

"Itachi..." She whispered as she set her face in her folded arms on top of the trunk. She sobbed softly, almost noiselessly so as not to disturb Sasuke. "I miss you." She smoothed her hand over the top of the wood. "My love."

Itachi stood behind her. He couldn't resist it anymore, he had to let her see him, he wanted to talk to her. Itachi knelt down next to Sakura and willed himself solid and visible, and ran his hand over her back. She slowly looked over her shoulder and met his eyes.

"Sakura..." He breathed.

Sakura's face contorted in her sorrow, and Itachi felt a faint pain in his chest as she pressed her face back into the trunk and sobbed heavily, clenching her fists.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Itachi felt almost betrayed at her reaction. He rubbed circles on her back as he waited for her to respond. Soon she calmed down, but she did not look at him.

"I'm glad to see you." She whispered. "But I'm also sad to know that I'm the one tying you to this place. I... I'm still grieving over you, your death. The sight of you pains me, hurts me so deeply, I feel like I'm coming apart." She shook her head as though the movement would somehow free her from her dark thoughts and feelings. "I miss you, but I loved you so much, that I can't bear to be near you now that you're... you're gone. I feel so guilty. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Itachi's face fell and he stared at the tatami next to her foot. He understood her pain and her guilt, he felt them both acutely at all times of the day. He closed his eyes and removed his hand from her back, but stayed by her side. _"But I still want to be near her. Is her heart so broken that she cannot stand to see neither myself nor Sasuke? Are her feelings so intense? Perhaps she needs to be alone to handle this... I made a mistake in showing myself to her. I should have contented myself with watching from the shadows, as I did with Sasuke."_ But Itachi did not want to watch her. He wanted to _be_ with her. _"But the time has passed for that. If you wanted that, you should have thought about the consequences of your actions before getting involved so deeply..." _Itachi's face did not betray his inner turmoil. _"Seeing me cements the agony of her predicament in her mind. I can understand her pain. Seeing me reminds her of her betrayal of her husband. I share her guilt. Just as I cannot bear to be away from her for a second, she cannot stand to be in my presence for more __than a moment."_ Itachi hung his head and shared his final thoughts with Sakura. "I understand and respect your wishes. Know that I love you unconditionally and I will do everything in my power to protect and watch over you for as long as we are both in the complex." Itachi's words lowered to a whisper. "I won't show myself to you again unless you want to see me. But know that I will be here constantly watching over you. All I ask is that you don't lose... don't lose that light that I love so much. Don't lose hope." Itachi's specter faded away from her side gradually but he did not move. Sakura smiled sadly to herself.

What was there left to hope for?

She didn't know if it was because they were newlyweds, or because they didn't love each other to begin with, but she and Sasuke had made every mistake possible in their marriage up to that moment. In ignoring each other, in copulating lovelessly, in her betrayal of Sasuke and in his attempt to kill her, they had both broken their vows irreparably (in her opinion). There was nothing left to do. No more vows left to break, no marriage left to fix. There was merely existence. Mind-numbing, painful, pointless existence. The one thing that she acknowledged was that as a mother, she had no right to take away her infant's right to live, his or her chance at life was not in Sakura's hands. Sakura chuckled bitterly to herself. _"This poor child. Doomed to carry the Uchiha clan on its shoulders, doomed to a life of hatred and ostracism. Doomed to live in a loveless home, with a father who will surely hate him or her as intensely as he hated Itachi. None of them will ever know the sacrifice..."_ Sakura wiped her eyes and rose from her spot. "Doomed." She whispered.

Over the course of the coming weeks, Sakura spent more and more time in Itachi's room, thinking and slowly re-decorating the space, making it suitable for baby. Sasuke drank more and more in his free time, which he had much of, as Konoha was experiencing a period of peace like never before. He and Sakura fairly avoided each other, and finally he arose one morning to find that he was alone in his futon. Instinctively he knew where he could find her, but he let her be. It was obvious she wanted to see as little of him as possible, and the feeling was mutual. If she wanted to sleep on Itachi's old, lumpy futon, then he would let her. She may as well wallow in her sorrows, because he was not going to pull her out of them.

One evening, late in March, Sasuke sat in the kitchen as usual, nursing his glass of shochu and staring out the open door into the courtyard. He could hear Sakura bustling about in the baby's room, she was already nearly five months along and was truly beginning to nest. As far as Sasuke was concerned that just meant the house was even cleaner than usual, and she spent even more time in Itachi's old room. He smirked as he heard the door to his brother's room slide open and he took another swig from his glass. The world was hazy to him, the courtyard appeared orange to him as he looked across it sleepily. Sakura rounded the corner and put her head down as usual. She carried a wet rag in her hands, and made to sweep by Sasuke as quickly as possible, but he would have none of that, not today. As soon as he saw her, he felt that certain tightness build in his groin, and pictured Sakura sweating under him. With a cry from Sakura, Sasuke pulled her into his lap and assaulted her neck over the folds of her yukata.

"Sasuke, no! Please!" Sakura struggled, horrified, to disentangle herself from his grasp, but Sasuke pulled harder on her light kimono and clamped his lips over her twisting neck.

"_You're mine tonight."_

"Sasuke, leave me alone!" She was blushing furiously as she pushed at his chest, kicking her legs in an effort to free herself. "Let me go!" She punched his chest and it stung a little, but in his drunkenness he didn't care.

"You're mine." He whispered drunkenly to her.

Sakura screamed for help.

"There's no one here to - oof." The back of Sasuke's chair it the ground with a clatter.

"Leave her alone, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up dazedly. He hadn't figured out what happened, but Sakura stood on the other side of the kitchen, gripping her rag and shaking, and between her and him stood a young man.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Sasuke slurred at the blurry image before him. "Get the fuck out of my house."

Itachi stepped to his brother and grasped him firmly around the throat, activating his sharingan.

"You're the one that needs to get out."

Sasuke finally realized who he was facing. But he could not speak with Itachi's hands around his neck. Moments later, Itachi let go of Sasuke and threw his little brother to the ground.

"Leave, now. Don't think about coming back until you're sober. And don't worry, I have my ways of making sure you leave the complex."

Sasuke rubbed his neck. "Fuck you guys." He muttered, but he pulled on his shoes clumsily and wove down the street away from the house without closing the door. Itachi could see that Shisui was following his younger brother.

"Thank you, Itachi." Sakura's eyes were shining with tears but she looked happier than he'd seen her in weeks.

"Anytime." He whispered, and without breaking their eye contact, his form dissipated before her eyes.

* * *

><p>Sasuke meandered down the familiar street slowly, each unsteady step bringing him closer to Eddy's. The villagers scowled at the stinking drunk as he passed them, but their glares were wasted on him. Sasuke smirked as he stumbled into the bar and took his seat at the nearest table. He'd drown his feelings in the warmth his beverage of preference offered.<p>

"You." He called to the nearest waitress.

"What can I get you, Sasuke-kun?" She smiled pleasantly and wasn't above leaning over the table to take his order. Sasuke smiled appreciatively at the view down her shirt. "Tequila. Keep the shots coming."

"You got it." She winked at him, perceptive of his mood she sashayed up to the bar and returned shortly with his tequila, bringing along limes and salt. He downed his shot immediately and she smiled playfully at him. "Want the bottle?"

Sasuke needed no more encouragement. He nodded in agreement and since the place was nearly empty on that weekday evening, she sat to accompany him. Sasuke was not a man of idle chatter, but he'd put up with her conversation for a time. Better to have her than no one at all. Sasuke took another shot as the waitress – Suki – prattled on about the beauties of her native rock country and the benefits of the newly formed Shinobi alliance.

"Allied forces?" He slurred. _"Against what?"_

She nodded enthusiastically. "You haven't heard? You're a jounin?"

Sasuke glared at her darkly and her smile fell a little. Suddenly he sighed. He really should go check the bulletin more often. He just hadn't felt motivated lately. "Yeah, I'm a jounin. But I guess it got by me." He shrugged and drank another shot. He felt his stomach flip uncomfortably. _"Better stop there..."_ He eyed the remaining quarter bottle of tequila wearily. _"What a waste."_ Sasuke smiled to himself and chuckled. Why hadn't he seen it earlier? Now was his opportunity to relieve his frustrations. He smirked at Suki from under his long bangs and she smiled back instantly, attuned to his advances. She leaned closer to him.

"Want to talk someplace more... private?" She raised an eyebrow at him coyly. Sasuke's smile widened to show his teeth. He leered predatorily at her.

"Let's go." He murmured.

Suki took the bottle and his cash from the table. Sasuke stared unabashedly at her rear as she bent over the bar to give the bartender the items. Her miniskirt hiked up a little and Sasuke wished it would move up just a little more so that he could see her panties.

* * *

><p>Kakashi glowered at his former student from across the bar as he watched the young man converse drunkenly with the waitress. He knew her type, he could almost smell her avarice from across the room, the malicious glint in her greedy eyes did not go unnoticed. He watched as she leaned close to the married man and they exchanged words in a hushed tone. If Sasuke stood up, he'd make his move. Kakashi got ready to move as soon as he saw Suki collect the young jounin's payment. He knew all too well what would come next. She turned and skipped, breasts bouncing all the way back to Sasuke's table. She bent and took him by the hand with a wide smile. It was no secret that Sasuke was loaded, and it looked like she planned to make a pretty profit that night. Sasuke looked all too comfortable with her contact. With not a hint of remorse, Kakashi abandoned yet another match of billiards with Genma to interrupt Sasuke's fun.<p>

"Excuse me." Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Long time, no see, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at his former Sensei. "I'm busy." He tried to sound intimidating but the words were slurred.

"No, you're not." Kakashi bit, anger burning in his visible eye. Sasuke held Kakashi's gaze for a moment then shrugged violently, effectively removing Kakashi's hand from his shoulder. "Fine, I'm outta here." Sasuke pushed Suki off of his arm and out of his way roughly and stormed out the door. Kakashi spared the girl an apologetic glance but she didn't look hurt, just put out. Kakashi didn't waste another second of his time on her. Instead he followed Sasuke out of the bar.

"Hey!" He called after the Uchiha. Sasuke spat and continued down the street, staggering in a zig-zag pattern. Kakashi caught up to him easily.

"Don't disrespect me, boy."

Sasuke pushed him lightly. "You... you don't even know..." He trailed. Kakashi followed him to the edge of town. Sasuke sighed deeply and put one hand on his hip.

"The okonomiyaki stand has been closed for awhile."

"Tch."

Kakashi waited.

"Why'd you follow me here anyway? What's your problem?"

Kakashi frowned. "What were you doing talking to Suki? You're married, remember?"

"Married?" Sasuke scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. I deserve a good time as much as the next guy." Sasuke tried to justify his actions.

Kakashi shook his head. "And Sakura? What does she deserve? I know she didn't sign on with you for this."

"Hn. Neither did I." Sasuke muttered.

"What's going on?" Kakashi stepped towards one of the picnic tables in front of the food stand, motioning for Sasuke to sit next to him. "Why so... _bitter_ all of a sudden?"

Sasuke leaned back, placing his elbows on the edge of the table. He was silent for awhile but finally he responded quietly.

"Suddenly, huh?" Sasuke smirked at the sky. "There's nothing sudden about it. Since Sakura came back nothing's been the same."

Kakashi patiently waited through a long pause for Sasuke to continue.

"There's no marriage to speak of. We just have an agreement." Sasuke said it as though it explained everything.

Kakashi went over different scenarios in his head, trying to piece together a rational explanation for the young couple's falling out, but he came up empty-handed. "I don't get it." The copy-nin mumbled as he leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs tiredly.

"Hn. Haven't you noticed? You don't even have to look underneath the underneath for this one. Sakura is five months pregnant." Sasuke finished softly.

Kakashi counted backwards on his fingers. _"January, Sakura came back to Konoha. That was three months ago. Before that Sakura was gone for another three, four months..." _Kakashi's eye widened in realization. "No way..." He breathed.

Sasuke chuckled darkly. "Oh yes. Oh yes she did."

Kakashi knew that Sakura had been brought back to Konoha by Sasuke, but he was unclear on the circumstances. He had his suspicions though. Although Sakura had always been the weakest of his students, she was a strong kunoichi and it would take more than a band of ruffians to keep her from coming home.

"Itachi?"

Sasuke was silent, it was all the confirmation Kakashi needed. He didn't know what to think.

"Why are you two still together? What's the point? You can't possibly be alright with this."

"I have to be. You know about the complex! My parents wouldn't have it any other way." Sasuke paused. "It's for the clan."

"You can't be serious. You let your parents, people who aren't even alive, sway you in your decision about Sakura? This is unhealthy for both of you and you know it, Sasuke."

"Like I said, you don't understand! No one will know any better as far as the brat's lineage is concerned. A divorce would only bring disgrace to my name and as soon as she pops the kid people will start counting months, they'll know it's not mine." Sasuke smiled bitterly at Kakashi. "We don't really have a choice."

Kakashi hung his head. "But it's still wrong for you to sleep around. I'm not going to get involved any more than I already have, but you _did_ try to kill her, didn't you?"

Sasuke stood, teetering from the sudden movement. "Fuck off, Kakashi. I'm going home." Sasuke left the man to his thoughts as he walked back into town. He wandered down the street to his house and stumbled into the genkan. He paused for a moment, breathing deeply. Sasuke decided not to remove his shoes after all and with another smirk and a smoldering anger reflecting in his stolen eyes he loped confidently through the kitchen and along the walk to Itachi's room. He threw the shoji aside and Sakura stirred. She looked up at him with a hint of annoyance in her sleepy eyes. She was forced to shut those eyes almost immediately afterward, however; Sasuke had summoned chakra to his eternal mangekyou sharingan. Sasuke laughed harshly.

"Fine then, remember this, what do I care?"

As he loosed his belt, Kusanagi fell to the ground with a clatter. Sasuke dropped to his knees, pulling Sakura to him roughly by her yukata, which tore slightly under his grip. Sakura started to scream but he silenced her with his mouth, forcing her face to his by fisting his hand tightly into her hair. He started to pull her hand towards his crotch but she fought and as he pulled away to speak she screamed again.

He didn't want to go in there, but he had to. He had made a promise. Itachi and Shisui stepped into the doorway of Itachi's old room, twin glares of disgust painted on their faces.

"Get up." Itachi commanded.

"Get out." Sasuke looked over his shoulder and laughed again while Sakura struggled in his grip.

"I don't think so." Shisui drew his sword and it gleamed in the moonlight.

"I'm busy." Sasuke turned his back to the cousins and jerked Sakura's yukata open.

Itachi responded by kicking his brother sharply in the side. Sasuke crashed into the desk nearby, breaking it into pieces. Sakura shrank back into the corner, clearly on the verge of breaking down.

"Sakura, get out of here. Run."

Without further ado she nodded and pulled her torn yukata around herself as best she could. She took off running. Itachi pulled Sasuke out of the broken remains of the desk by his hair and dragged him, kicking and cursing into the courtyard. He deposited Sasuke into the grass there. Sasuke slowly brought himself to his knees, looking pale, then he proceeded to vomit in the yard. As soon as he finished, Itachi punted Sasuke across the yard where he lay motionless on his back.

Sasuke started to laugh. Itachi and Shisui stepped toward him and Itachi spoke through his brother's maniacal laughter.

"Despite all I've done for you, I want nothing more than to kill you right now." Itachi narrowed his eyes at Sasuke as his laughter gradually died down.

"Then do it." Sasuke whispered. "You've taken everything else from me. Kill me."

Itachi's eyes flashed as he considered the option momentarily.

"No. You deserve everything you've brought upon yourself. Not that you seem capable of comprehending the notion of accountability." Sasuke blinked up at his brother. "Nevermind." Itachi crouched next to Sasuke."

"Please give it one more try. Apologize to Sakura and mean it. Start over. There might still be a chance. It's going to take a lot of work, but if you feel even the slightest bit of remorse for what you've done, if you feel any love for her at all, you'll do it. She deserves better than this, and you can do better. If not, then let her divorce you. Let her go. Never mind the clan." Sasuke looked up at Itachi blankly. "She did love you. She might let you have another chance. If nothing else try for her sake. Give back to her for all the years of care and love she gave you from the day she met you. At least think about it. She and I both made a mistake, one which I can safely say we both regret now that we are suffering the consequences. However, she has shown you that she is willing to try to move forward from that mistake. Show her some forgiveness, Sasuke. I'm sure she'll do the same if you talk to her about it."

Sasuke closed his eyes and sat up, wiping his mouth. He winced inwardly at the thought of speaking to Sakura anytime soon.

"Everything is so messed up. I don't know where to start"

"_So he doesn't **want** things to be this way. He doesn't want to end their relationship."_ Itachi thought. "You certainly didn't make a good choice tonight. You should have left her alone. She's your wife, not your property."

Sasuke sighed. "What can I do?"

Itachi stood. "Your friends and family aren't always going to be here to tell you what to do." Itachi looked at his hand and made a fist. "In fact, I've interfered more than I thought I'd have to." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in his angst.

Itachi sighed.

"But... You could start with an 'I'm sorry,' and work your way from there. Put your hate aside, too. It won't help you anymore." Itachi finished quietly as he turned his back to his brother and disappeared along with Shisui, who had been close at hand the entire time.

"Why bother letting them try again? You could have just put an end to this nonsense once and for all!" Shisui hit his forehead with his palm. "This is either going to be really good or really, really bad." Shisui muttered.

"Good or neutral." Itachi assured him. "There are no other options. They will reconcile their relationship or they will separate."

Shisui looked at his cousin, then shook his head. "I hope you're right, Itachi."

* * *

><p>Kakashi turned away from the memorial and trudged back towards his apartment. Just as Sasuke always seemed to be able to confide in his former Sensei, Kakashi found it easy to talk about his deepest feelings with Obito, rather, Obito's memory. It was easier to speak to the silent face of the memorial stone than to a real person, and he couldn't imagine carrying on any other way. He mulled these thoughts over in his head as he walked across town, but as he reached the stairway that led up to his apartment he felt a tiny but familiar chakra, and he rushed up the last few steps. There at his door stood Sakura, clad only in a light yukata.<p>

"Sakura!" He hurried to open the door. "What happened?" He had only a moment to react for as soon as the door closed she threw herself into his arms, and he held her close in response. She burst into tears straight away. Kakashi just stood and ran his hand over her hair, comforting her. He wouldn't placate her with empty, kind words; he wasn't that kind of man. All he could do was be there for her as he had many times in the past.

"I got away." She whispered disbelievingly. "No one stopped me." She pulled away from Kakashi's chest and took in her surroundings. _"We're really in Kakashi's apartment. There's Mr. Ukki, his blue mug is still in the dish rack and he still has that plaid fold-out sofa."_ Sakura blinked once, twice and then she smiled. "I'm free." She whispered.

Kakashi lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at him. "I missed you, Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded. _"Me too."_ He would never admit it. "What are you talking about? You got away? You're free? What does that mean?"

Sakura's eyes widened but she fought against her tears. She needed to tell him everything. She opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, Kakashi noticed that not only was she scantily clad, her clothes were ripped. He held up a hand for her to wait.

"Let me get you some clothes. Hold on." Kakashi ran to his room and rummaged through the dresser next to his bed, grabbing some issue sweatpants and a stretchy jounin undershirt. He tossed them at her as he walked out of the room and she caught them easily. "Do you want some tea or something?"

Sakura nodded. "Tea is fine." Kakashi turned his back to her and went into his kitchen, occupying himself with the simple task. By the time he had put the water on, Sakura emerged from the bathroom, her prominent baby bump further accentuated by the tight shirt Kakashi had lent her. She sat at the small table in Kakashi's nook and waited for him to finish brewing the tea. He stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, she had washed her face but her cheeks were still reddened from crying. Finally he brought their drinks to the table and took a seat himself.

"So what happened?" Kakashi took a quick sip as she looked away in thought.

"Where should I start? From the beginning? It's kind of a long story." She smiled apologetically at him.

"That's fine." He held the warm cup in between his hands. "There's plenty of hot water." He smiled briefly at her.

"Ha. Ok." Sakura smiled a little herself. She started her story then, from her vacation to Whirlpool. She told Kakashi all about how she had met Itachi and he had explained the massacre to her, suggesting only vaguely that it hadn't been Itachi's intention to kill his entire family. She recounted the story of Itachi's love for her and how they had finally realized that they were practically made for each other, their peaceful days in Lightning had been her best since her marriage, without a doubt. Sakura told him about Itachi's reaction to her pregnancy, and how they'd been determined to stay together for as long as they could. She told him about meeting the Akatsuki, and she skimmed over her and Itachi's last night together, leaving out the details. She knew Kakashi would see underneath the underneath, as usual. When she relayed Itachi and Sasuke's final battle to the copy-nin she couldn't stifle her tears, picturing Itachi dead again reopened the fresh wounds in her mind.

"Ever since I came back to the complex, Itachi has been there, watching over me... I don't really know how to explain it, other than..." She bit her lip.

"He's a ghost." Kakashi suggested bluntly.

"Well, yes." Sakura affirmed. "How did you know?"

"Sasuke told me all about it. The ghosts I mean. But we haven't really spoken recently, not about that anyway."

"Oh." Sakura finished her tea. "Then this won't surprise you. That simplifies things. I've basically been a prisoner at the Uchiha complex."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Sakura chuckled. "The night I came back I tried to leave. I packed all of my stuff, I hadn't told Sasuke about me and Itachi's son. Of course, I didn't know that it was a boy then. But my in-laws stopped me from leaving. I didn't realize that ghosts could will themselves solid temporarily. All in all, it was very frightening. Fugaku forced me to tell Sasuke about the pregnancy." Sakura ran a hand over her belly and she left it there, cradling it in her hand. "Sasuke tried to hit me. I retaliated." She smiled. "I came so close..." She balled her hand into a fist and thumped it on her thigh. "I almost put the bastard's eyes out. But Fugaku saved him at the last moment. Sasuke wanted to kill me in that moment." She screwed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth through her moment of pain. "The bastard..." She whispered.

"Wanted to kill you? Are you sure?"

Sakura threw him a look that showed him she was serious. "He said so. His mother basically stopped him. Aside from that though, she was backing him up the whole time. Everyone made me out to be the bad guy." She laughed tiredly. "As if he hadn't already tried to kill me!"

Kakashi nodded. "That's so crazy..."

"Yeah." Sakura sighed. "Anyway, basically Sasuke has been breathing down my neck every waking moment of the day since then. And if he's not home, I just _know_ Fugaku is waiting for me to try to break out. Sasuke only started to bother me recently, really just today. But I can't go back, I can't keep on living like this." She looked at Kakashi determinedly. "I'm going to leave. I made it out, I'm away from Sasuke. This is my chance to be free forever. I can't be on the defensive twenty-four-seven, the stress alone is killing me. I won't allow Sasuke to mistreat me either. He's shown his violent side to me more than once, he has issues with anger I think. And I also think that just seeing me makes him more and more angry, like my existence is poisoning his life." Sakura wiped her face. "I have to protect my child, above all. This is the only way to do it."

Kakashi nodded after a moment. "Leaving the village is definitely not something that you should do rashly. But it is the safest option in this case. That, or-" he paused and looked Sakura in the eye. "We go to the Hokage, together, and tell her everything. Sasuke will surely be locked up. Yes, his clan will lose face, but I can clearly see that you are the victim in this case, especially after talking to him and getting his point of view earlier this evening."

"You talked to him?" Sakura leaned across the table in interest, her eyebrows drawn together with worry.

"Yes, he was at the jounin club, about to leave with a whore, when I confronted him." Kakashi spoke the words softly but emotionlessly. Sakura lowered her head in disappointment, but didn't look surprised in the least. "I got him away from her, but then he started talking to me about your marriage. From what I gathered, he doesn't really want to be with you either. Then again, he _was_ drunk. I let it slide... He also admitted that his intentions behind sending you on vacation to Whirlpool were less than innocent." Kakashi sighed. "I don't know what got into me, I'll be honest when I say that I don't have any experience with marriage at all. But I was going to let that slide too. I figured you two were... handling it. I should have come to see you earlier." Kakashi stroked the rim of his cold teacup with his thumb, fidgeting in his discomfort. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I should have seen this coming, knowing Sasuke. You're right, he has... problems."

Sakura stood and walked into the kitchen to heat up more water. "So you're my witness, he tried to kill me. I also cheated on him, that works in favor of our... divorce." She said it like it was a dirty word. Sakura sighed heavily as she turned on the range. "I might not get anything out of it money-wise, but I don't care. I just want peace." Kakashi nodded and Sakura continued. "For what it's worth, earlier today he... he pulled me into his lap as I was walking by him and started kissing me and stuff..." She got quieter and quieter as she retold the events of that afternoon. "He was drunk, as usual."

Kakashi frowned deeply at this news and interrupted her. "As usual? As in, he drinks often?"

Sakura smiled as she stared at the pot on the stove, watching small bubbles form in the water. "Whenever he's not on a mission."

Kakashi sighed in disappointment. _"That boy..."_

"Just like Itachi said, it's like he's on a mission to disappoint everyone as much as possible. He just keeps messing up, over and over. It's like... it's like he's not even trying to make things better or to do things right. I'm fairly sure he doesn't care. He doesn't know how maybe. But that's no excuse."

Kakashi stood and brought his cup over to her as she turned the stove off, just before the water began to boil. "Go on, though. What did he do?"

Sakura blushed. "That was it really. At that moment anyway. Then Itachi showed himself, knocked Sasuke over and basically threatened him. Sasuke left and then Itachi disappeared. I don't know where Sasuke went, but it sounds like he went straight to the bar." Sakura shrugged and threw the green tea into the pot.

"He was there when I got there." Kakashi offered.

"See?" Sakura stirred the tea. "Well, that's not the half of it. After his little escapade out on the town, he came home. I was asleep in Itachi's room as usual. He came in with his pants down, and he tried to make me..." Sakura bit her lip and poured the tea. "I tried to fight back but I had my eyes closed. He tried to use mangekyou sharingan on me." She whispered. "I don't know what his intention was, but he said that it was fine that I had closed my eyes, that he didn't care if I remembered or not. Like he didn't care how much it would hurt me if he... if he raped me I guess." She set the pot down shakily on the stove and immediately put her face in her hands and rested her elbows on the kitchen counter. Her shoulders shook with each sob as she started to cry again. "I- I don't want – don't want to think about it." She cried brokenly, sobbing in between words. "I hate to think that – Sasuke – would do these things... but he did. And – I can't – live with him- any- anymore." She broke down completely on the counter.

Kakashi felt a rage build inside him that surpassed any anger he'd felt before. He wanted to go straight to the Uchiha complex and make Sasuke suffer... He forced himself to think rationally. Acting on impulse would only make the situation worse and drag him into the middle of it to boot. He needed to keep a clear head and be the responsible adult in this situation. Kakashi knew that he needed to be an anchor for Sakura as well. If what she was telling him was accurate, then Sasuke was going to spend a long time far away from Sakura. Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair. _"At least she'll be safe. The Hokage won't be pleased to hear this."_ Kakashi placed a hand delicately on Sakura's back.

"Look, I'll make up the pop-out for you tonight. You can stay here. When you're ready, soon, we'll go to the Hokage together. Tsunade is going to be very upset about this. Using forbidden jutsu against you takes this to a whole different level." Kakashi's look hardened. "Finish your tea. I'll get the sheets."


	25. Chapter 25

_**Complex**_

_Chapter 25: Pretense of Spring_

Sasuke picked his head up abruptly from the kitchen table, where he had fallen asleep. He stretched his sore neck as he stood and rubbed his face with his hands, light was pouring in the window and it was hurting his sore head.

"Ow." He muttered. His eyeballs felt like they were throbbing. He poured himself some water to try to rid himself of the horrid, sour taste in his mouth. "Never doing _that_ again..." He muttered, then gulped the entire glass of water. It didn't do him any good and he squinted, unsatisfied, at the empty glass in his hand. "Oh, shit..." He dragged the back of his hand across his eyes. _"Sakura... goddamnit. What the hell is wrong with me?"_ Sasuke grimaced and clenched his teeth, setting his glass back down on the counter. _"I've got to talk to her..."_ Sasuke didn't remember everything that happened the night before, but he did remember his brother talking to him... _"Right, I got my ass kicked." _Sasuke shuffled out onto the walk and went into his room to take a shower. He spun the tap open and while the water was heating up, he peeled his sweaty clothes off of his body. He winced as he ran a hand over the large bruise that had appeared in the spot where Itachi had kicked his ribs. _"I deserved that."_ He scowled at himself in the mirror. Sasuke stepped into the shower and started to scrub the stench of alcohol from his body vigorously. _"What to do, what to say?"_ He asked himself. It wasn't helping his head any, he didn't want to think about Sakura, but he needed to. _"Do I even want her here?"_ Sasuke thought about it as he wet his thick hair and massaged shampoo into his scalp. _"Personally, do I want her..."_ He tried to push thoughts of the clan and her child from his head, but it was difficult. Finally he got to a place where he remembered who she was before: the blushing girl he had bedded on their wedding night; the confident, happy kunoichi who'd had his back and healed him on more than one occasion. He remembered their dates, their quiet runs and his birthday. They had made so many wonderful memories together. Sasuke scrubbed harder than necessary as he rinsed the lather out of his dark hair. _"Why is this so difficult?" _Sasuke let the hot water run over his sore neck and shoulders as he thought about it.

"It's because she loved me." He muttered to himself. _"If I hadn't screwed everything up, we'd still be together, happy, normal. It's my fault to start with... OK, stop the blame game. Focus. Sakura..."_

He tried to picture her again, but it was hopeless now, he was caught in a cycle of hatred. He hated what he'd done, what _she'd_ done, he hated Itachi and he hated her baby. He hated himself and he hated the fact that she had left. He hated that she loved him, and he hated that he loved her. Sasuke put his face in his hands. _"This pain..." _It was unfamiliar, but the pain in his chest was definitely longing. _"I don't want to be alone again..." _He felt incredibly immature but it was the truth. Sakura was the only person willing to put up with him. _"I want to try. I really do... I think I do... I'm not going to let her go."_ Sasuke ran his fingers through his wet hair one more time and turned off the water, stepping out into the steamy bathroom. As he toweled off, he decided on a course of action.

"_I'm going to spend the day trying to forgive her. I'm going to find her and I'm going to explain everything... I'll get my parents to leave us alone and I'll... I'll ask Itachi to help me..."_ He hated the thought, but he knew now, after thinking about everything he'd done that he couldn't control himself, and that was one of the main issues between he and Sakura. Every time he got angry, or sad, or drunk, he'd screw up. He'd jump to conclusions, he'd do stupid things like try to hit Sakura or force her into things she didn't want to do. He'd become a liar, a wife beater, a drunk. He didn't know how to handle his emotions and after last night, Sasuke thought that maybe Itachi was the only one who could help him.

He tugged on some pants and left his room, heading towards Itachi's. Before he did anything else, Sasuke wanted to clean up the mess he'd caused last night. He didn't want the night before to be the first thing Sakura was reminded of when she came home.

* * *

><p>In the meanwhile, Sakura partook happily of the breakfast Kakashi had thoughtfully cooked for her. Yes it was pancakes and eggs, but his bachelor cooking was greatly appreciated on that sunny morning.<p>

"Mmm, really good, Kakashi."

"Yep." Kakashi sent her a familiar eye crinkle and flipped the last pancake, throwing it out of the pan and sending it spinning through the air.

Sakura laughed, and Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the sound. After everything she'd been through, he was glad to find out that the old Sakura was still in there somewhere. She was his little trooper. He flipped the pancake into his plate and turned off the stove, then sat next to Sakura and poured a generous amount of syrup over his pancake.

"Itadakimasu!" He shoveled the pancake into his mouth rapidly and licked his lips before lifting his mask up. _"Another victory for Hatake Kakashi! No syrup spilled on the mask, ten points!"_ It was a game he'd played often after he'd first donned the mask.

"You sure are happy." Sakura ate her breakfast at a normal pace.

"I'm just glad you're ok." Kakashi replied easily. Sakura didn't say anything but her smile didn't fade.

"I'm getting a fresh start. It's still hard to believe." Sakura looked down at her plate, her face softened a bit. "I'm so happy."

"I know everyone will be glad for you. You're making the right decision." Kakashi reassured her.

"I know." Sakura rubbed her stomach lightly and scrunched her nose.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, come here." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach, just under her ribs. Kakashi's eye widened. "Hold on. Give him a minute." Sakura rolled her eyes at her former Sensei's reaction. Suddenly she sucked her teeth and Kakashi jumped in his seat. "A right little shinobi, this one." Sakura beamed.

"Does it hurt?" Kakashi asked as he pulled his hand away.

"Yeah, mostly when its under the ribs like that its the worst. But its not that bad really. Nothing like a kunai to the side." She grinned.

"Ah." Kakashi chuckled. "I've never felt a baby kick before."

"Really? That was your first time?" Sakura gasped and Kakashi nodded. "Well, you can be his godfather then!" Sakura clapped her hands.

"Ha, are you sure?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Positive." Sakura smiled broadly. "I'd be honored. Just no porn reading around him, 'kay?"

Kakashi frowned. "That's a tall order."

Sakura punched at him as she gathered their dishes, but he dodged. "Psh, perv."

"Hm, mm." Kakashi laughed quietly to himself.

"So what's the plan?" Sakura asked as she rinsed the dishes. "Do we just go straight to Tsunade and tell her everything? I haven't seen her in ages. I'd love to say hi."

"Well, we won't really be saying hi... And we should put everything down in writing first. Once we've got it all written down then we'll head over there. Probably tomorrow?"

Sakura nodded, drying her hands. "I'll be to stressed if we try to go right after writing it. I guess I'd better get started."

"Let me grab my report book."

"'Kay."

Sakura and Kakashi spent the rest of the day writing out all of Sasuke's offenses against Sakura in Kakashi's mission report notebook. It was an arduous task, and difficult. Kakashi had to constantly remind Sakura to keep things objective, to keep things factual. Together they pieced together a formidable report for the Hokage, and Kakashi didn't see any reason for her not to get the divorce she wanted. Financially, it was likely that Sakura would end up with nothing, but Kakashi was willing to help her out until she could get back to work. He hardly spent any time at home anyway, he argued. Sakura was very grateful for Kakashi's hospitality. She'd go back to work for as long as she could and she was sure she'd be able to get an apartment before the end of the month. Kakashi seemed indifferent about her time frame, all that mattered to him was that she be in a safe place. The day flew by in a blur of papers and cup after cup of tea, and finally the sun was setting over the village and all Sakura and Kakashi could think about was what they'd be doing the next day. He'd take her to the Hokage's office and Tsunade could summon Sasuke from there as she saw fit.

Just as Sakura and Kakashi finished their final revision of their presentation and closed the notebook, there was a soft knock at the door. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Sakura and they both felt Sasuke's unmistakeable chakra signature.

"I'll get it." Kakashi muttered, reigning in his anger. He stood and cracked the door open, blocking the young man's view into his apartment with his body. "Is there something I can do for you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's arms were crossed in front of his chest. "I need to talk to Sakura." He looked serious.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you, though, Sasuke." Kakashi squeezed the doorknob tightly.

"Look." Sasuke stepped a little closer to Kakashi and lowered his voice. "I just want to apologize."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at Sasuke. "Do you think that will make things better? Do you think that will reverse the damage you've done?" The older jounin murmured.

Sasuke lowered his gaze from Kakashi's face. "I don't know. But I have to try."

"Have to, or _want_ to?" Kakashi asked.

"Both." Sasuke whispered.

"I think you should go home, Sasuke." Kakashi started to close the door when he felt a small hand cover his over the doorknob.

"Kakashi." Sakura whispered. "I'll explain things to him."

Kakashi shook his head, "That's not necessary, it's not part of the plan."

Sasuke's face brightened slightly with hope as he met Sakura's eyes across Kakashi and through the doorway. She looked a little sad, but overall she seemed... back to normal. Brave. Strong.

"Sakura. Please give me a chance. Let's talk, just for a few minutes."

Sakura smiled briefly at Kakashi. "I'm a big girl. I can handle this. I'll be right back, I'm just going to explain the situation to him."

Sasuke's face fell, he wasn't sure what that meant but it didn't sound good. Kakashi sighed.

"I hope you're not making a mistake." He shook his head but allowed Sakura to open the door and slip by him.

"I'll be fine." She reassured him.

"I'll be waiting."

"Okay. I'll be back within a couple hours, if not less. If it's longer than two hours, I'll drop by and let you know so you don't have to worry."

"Sounds like a plan." Kakashi felt a little better. She turned away from him and walked down the hallway with Sasuke and Kakashi closed the door uneasily. He had a bad feeling about this.

Sakura and Sasuke walked down the street together, a good distance in between the two of them. Sasuke hung his head sadly the whole way, but Sakura walked confidently, hands in her (Kakashi's) pockets and head turned forward toward the sunset. The pair walked to the edge of town, near the Uchiha district but at the last moment they turned and headed toward the lake. They stood together on the shore for some time without saying anything, Sasuke kept trying to start, but every time he looked at Sakura all he saw was her swollen belly stretching Kakashi's shirt out of shape. He tried to push down the irrational thoughts, the anger that was growing in him away. He had to focus, this was his last chance to fix things. _"I can't fuck this up..."_ Sasuke was ready to pull his hair in his frustration.

"Out with it, Sasuke, I don't have all day. I've got things I want to tell you too." It was already getting dark, the sun had sunk below the village wall.

"Give me a minute." He ground out, glancing sidelong at her again. She looked annoyed, and her stomach seemed to get bigger every time he looked at her. That stomach. That baby. Itachi's baby. That bastard. Sasuke was seething. _"I have to apologize... this is about... Sakura..."_ Sasuke turned to her and tried to open his mouth to speak to her, to tell her everything he'd been rehearsing in his head all day, but instead of moving his lips his feet stepped toward her. She turned to him abruptly and protested, "Hey, don't touch me! Stay over there!" Sakura panicked as she saw his eyes turn red through his rage. She closed her eyes and tried to step backwards, away from him, but Sasuke was on autopilot. He clenched his teeth and felt the blood running down his face as his tomoe spun. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist jerking the pinkette towards him. Sakura opened her mouth to scream, but Sasuke immediately snaked a hand into her hair and clamped his hand over her mouth, letting her wrist go in the process. His face was frozen in a stoic mask, devoid of emotion, his lips pressed into a thin, hard frown. Sakura struggled in his grasp, she tried to shake her head free of his grip, she clawed at the backs of his hands with her nails and her feet slipped and slid noisily through the gravel as he dragged her closer to the water. He ignored the pain she was inflicting on him, it was nothing compared to the thick rush of adrenaline and the dull, pulsing anger he felt coursing through his veins. A part of him was horrified, screamed that what he was doing was wrong. But a larger part in him, a bigger _something_ was in charge of his actions. The water was getting deeper and deeper, Sakura was kicking him now, screaming into his hand and thrashing under his strength but she was no match for him. He didn't even look at her face as he swung his arm in an arc, throwing her off balance and submerging her in the water with a small splash. He shifted his body over hers, he placed both of his hands on her neck and straddled her there in the water. He could clearly see the air escaping from her lungs as she screamed angrily at him, still clawing at his forearms. He smirked as he imagined all of the obscenities she was probably yelling at him, and he shook her lightly under the water as she struggled. Her eyes widened and she gripped his wrists in her hands tightly, trying to pull them off of her throat making a last effort to free herself. He could see that she was out of air, her mouth was opening and closing, but nothing was coming out and slowly her grip on him weakened. Time slipped by slowly, it felt like he had been holding her underwater for at least an hour, but really it had only been a few minutes. Sakura started to shake and jerk under his hands as she went into cardiac arrest and he held her there until she stopped moving completely, her eyes rolled back into her head. Tentatively, he let her go and she slowly sunk away from him.

Sasuke sighed shakily and ran his hands through his hair, then looked around, suddenly scared. There was no one there.

"Sakura..." Sasuke suddenly felt calm and shaky all at once, his hands were shaking uncontrollably and he felt so cold. "You know, I wanted to apologize. I wanted to say sorry and I wanted to make everything better. I wanted you to have a nice life. But you had to go and ruin it. Do you have any idea what it's like for me to see you everyday with that disgusting stomach of yours, my brother's fucking mutant seed growing inside of you? I have every right to hate you, I do hate you..." He whispered the words as he stared at his shaking palms. "But I loved you. I did. I made a stupid mistake, and I'm sorry, I didn't think it through before I sent you to Whirlpool. I didn't want you to die. I wanted to try to fix it when you came back. I thought we'd be okay. I thought you wanted to try too." Sasuke sighed and dropped his hands into the water, staring into its dark depths. The sun had long since gone down. "Why'd you have to go sleep with my brother? Why did you do it? Why... why didn't you _think _first? And, Kami knows I was willing to give you another chance but..." Sasuke pulled at his own hair. "Aagh, I don't know! Okay? I don't know! I'm just _angry_!" Sasuke wasn't making sense anymore, he was just rambling, burning tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to kill you, but I had to. You made me do it." He muttered finally. "Just like I have to live with my mistakes, well now you have paid for yours." Sasuke blinked as he came to a realization. _"If I get caught here, I'm fucked. I need to get out of here."_ Sasuke turned abruptly and trudged out of the water, then ran through a back way, along the village wall, all the way back to the complex.

Sasuke ran into the house without bothering to remove his shoes and as soon as he reached the walk, he saw Itachi standing in the courtyard.

"Where is Sakura?" Itachi asked quietly. "Why are you wet?" He noted the drops hitting the walk.

"I don't have time for you. I have to get out of Konoha." Sasuke breathed, eyes wild.

Itachi walked toward his brother slowly, stopping just a few feet away from him. "What did you do to her? Everyone disappeared about thirty minutes ago." Itachi's eyes widened and he stepped forward, grabbing Sasuke by the shirt. "You didn't."

Sasuke laughed quietly, reaching up to hold Itachi's wrist. "I had no choice."

Different emotions danced across Itachi's face, disgust, anger, sadness and disappointment. "You... You've failed. You've failed everyone, your clan, your wife and your village." Itachi let Sasuke go and the weight of understanding fell onto Sasuke's shoulders suddenly. "You always need someone to tell you what to do, what to think and feel, how to act. I hate to think what would have happened to you if you hadn't returned to Konoha when you did. Even with the right people helping and guiding you, you've gone and ruined everything." Itachi spoke softly and Sasuke fell to his knees. "If you had fallen into the wrong hands... you could have ended up doing more than the wrong that's already been done." Itachi looked down at his brother with pity. "More than anything, you've failed yourself." Itachi knew the words would hit Sasuke where it hurt, his ego.

"Myself..." Sasuke held his head in his hands.

Itachi felt a gentle warmth start to come over him and Sasuke looked up to see his brother's form fading from him.

"It's time to go, Itachi." Shisui's voice echoed in his head.

"Sasuke... Goodbye." Itachi's whispered words rang eerily through the courtyard as he disappeared, though Sasuke was reaching for him, he would never return. There was no more reason for him to stay.

Sasuke stared into the courtyard for a few more moments, feeling lost. A deep sense of despair settled within him, the whole clan was gone, that meant it was over. Everyone had lost hope in him. He'd destroyed the only hope he'd ever had when he killed Sakura. Lethargically, Sasuke pulled himself to his feet, swaying. He felt like each breath was labored, his chest felt so heavy and his throat was closing up on him. Sasuke trudged to his room and slid the shoji closed behind him.

There was only one way to stop this misery.

Sasuke reached under the futon, retrieving his tanto. With a soft click he freed it from the sheath, and he sat for a moment just admiring the beauty of the weapon. He'd killed many with it, but that didn't matter now. This would be the last time...

Sasuke almost smiled as he positioned the blade over his heart. He had considered harakiri briefly, but if someone found Sakura before he died, they'd 'rescue' him for certain. He exhaled profoundly and took a last clean, sweet breath.

"The world now unchanged from ancient times,  
>leaves that are words retain seeds in the heart."<p>

Sasuke whispered to himself quietly before sliding the blade in between his ribs and through his heart with a low groan. His breath caught in his throat and he grunted softly before falling onto his face in the middle of the room. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, staining his pale face, but it was already over, he coughed shallowly once and his eyes gazed empty, soulless into the room.

He felt the pain envelop him, twisting deep in his chest, but he also felt heaviness and blackness wash over him like so much deep, still water. It was so quiet and the room darkened as a cloud covered the moon. Just as Sasuke felt that he was drifting away into the depths, he felt a distinct disconnection somewhere in the pit of his stomach, and suddenly he found himself floating on air, looking down he saw...

Himself.

He was dead.

Sasuke's eyes widened in fear and he willed himself to stand upright next to his body, everything seemed bigger than he remembered it, even his own body. Sasuke looked down at his hands and realization came over him in a rush.

He closed his little hands into fists much as he had done in that same room, years before. Sasuke screwed his eyes shut and he whimpered, shivering at the sound of his eight year old voice.

"No..." He croaked. He loosened his fists and opened his eyes. Itachi must have been lying. They were here somewhere, they had to be.

"Okaasan?" He started. Sasuke went out onto the walkway and called out again. "Otousan?" He looked around the empty courtyard, searching for a response, a sign of activity, anything. "Itachi?" He tried again.

There was no response.


	26. Epilogue

_**Complex**_

_Epilogue_

On that cloudy spring day, Naruto and Kakashi stood at the front of the small gathering of shinobi who had come to mourn Sakura and Sasuke's passing. The rookie nine were all present, as well as the Hokage herself and a few members of the hospital staff. Since neither Sakura nor Sasuke had parents, Kakashi took it upon himself to deliver their eulogies and put their souls to rest.

"Thank you all for coming." Kakashi hung his head and looked through his blurry vision toward the pictures of Sakura and Sasuke that sat on the table. "As shinobi, we never know when death may come to claim us. Death is our constant companion throughout our lives, it follows us down every path and lurks in every shadow, greets us at every turn. In cases like this, we find ourselves left behind by the dead, hardly able to understand the circumstances that led to such a quick end. It is a bittersweet parting however, for though we have been left behind, we know that our important people have gone to meet with their lost loved ones in the afterlife."

"Sakura Haruno was a young woman who always did everything she could to bring peace and healing to those around her. She was a tough kunoichi, one of the strongest of her generation. She brought life to this village as well as those around her..." Kakashi paused. "I just wanted to say that if she had been able to go on for just a little longer, she would have given the gift of life as well, Sakura was five months pregnant when she passed on."

A few glances were exchanged in the crowd but Kakashi disregarded them.

"Sasuke Uchiha was a fine shinobi and he easily outclassed others in his generation. He will always be known as the last Uchiha, and I was proud to have been his teacher, as well as Sakura's. May their souls rest in peace."

Kakashi stepped away from the front of the group and placed a single white carnation on the table where Sakura and Sasuke's pictures had been placed. There was a quiet bustle among the crowd as everyone present followed suit, struggling not to cry. One by one, the people left after paying their respects and finally only one person remained.

Naruto knelt by Sakura's fresh grave and wiped his face with the back of his sleeve.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto paused. "I loved you so much, you were my sister. You and Sasuke were my only family. I really hope that even though you're dead, you're happy now. I hope you and your baby are in a safe place with people who love you." Naruto closed his eyes and his tears hit the ground between his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise to protect you. We never told you about it, we didn't want you to know how much we worried, but we all promised to watch over you, to never let you get hurt. Sakura... I hope you can forgive me." Naruto began to cry and his shoulders shook as he sobbed. "I miss you already. I don't know how I will go on without you to look after, to baby and to love. I miss you, Sakura. I... I love you, my sister."

And the heavens cried along with him.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading. I'd like to ask everyone to review please, I'd like to know everyone's thoughts, feelings and rants. Thank you for sticking by me to the end, and to all of you, readers and reviewers alike, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it to the end. Thank you.<p> 


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